


Lights Go Down (In the City)

by Morkhan



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Glee
Genre: Action, Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-03
Updated: 2013-02-06
Packaged: 2017-11-04 18:57:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/397121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morkhan/pseuds/Morkhan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two boys, from two very different worlds, come together in love, only for a Revolution to divide them.  All’s fair in love and war, but when the two collide… which will survive?  Glee fusion with The Legend of Korra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Rating** : PG-13 for innuendo, swearing, violence.  
 **Spoilers** : Huge spoilers for _The Legend of Korra_.  
 **Warnings** : None for this chapter.  
 **Word Count** : ~1500  
 **Summary** : Two boys, from two very different worlds, come together in love, only for a Revolution to divide them. All's fair in love and war, but when the two collide… which will survive? Fusion with _The Legend of Korra_.

 **Author's Note:** I cannot believe I am starting another WIP, let alone another crossover, let alone another _Avatar_ crossover, but Korra and the amazing world she inhabits would not leave me alone.

This is another story set in the Avatar universe starring Kurt and Blaine, but it is **entirely separate from** _ **Solar Winds**_. This is a vastly different story in several ways …

 _A different setting_ – This story is set in Republic City. Kurt, Blaine, and their fellow Glee characters inhabit the same world as Avatar Korra and the characters in the show, which technically means this is a crossover as well as a fusion. However, do not expect the Glee/Korra characters to meet or interact much, if at all, because…

 _Different roles_ – In this story, Kurt and Blaine aren't saving the world. They're two just teenaged boys trying to get by in the world. This story is meant to be something that could happen in Republic City without ever showing up on the series proper. I've also scrambled everyone's elements; in the case of Kurt and Blaine this will be obvious from the first chapter. With other characters, it might be less obvious, because…

 _Different cast_ – Of the major Glee characters in Solar Winds, many will not appear in this story at all, and the ones who do will have very different/reduced roles. Peripheral roles will primarily be Glee characters I haven't used in Solar Winds, and even they will likely have fairly small roles, because…

 _A more focused narrative_ – While Solar Winds is literally crazy with plots and subplots, this story, by contrast, is _all about Kurt and Blaine_. It is much more focused on them, their choices, and the many ways this brings them into conflict with each other and their world. And yes, I do mean _each other_ , because…

 _A darker tone_ – Much like _The Legend of Korra_ , this story is meant to be darker and leaner than the original. The morality is much grayer, and it's harder to draw lines between good guys and bad guys. Kurt and Blaine are on very different sides of a revolution and only time will tell if love or hate will triumph between them.

This story has possessed me like a demon, and this is the only way to exercise it. If you like action, intrigue, conflicted characters, star-crossed lovers, long-ass chapters, and a heaping helping of Blaingst, I encourage you to give it a shot. Title comes from the Journey song 'Lights.'

For those who aren't watching/haven't watched _The Legend of Korra_ , here is a brief explanation of the setting.

* * *

 **Republic City** – Take Manhattan and Hong Kong and smash them together, mix with a helping of steampunk and set to boil in the post-war boom of the 1920s. Add a dose of magical, element-manipulating kung fu, political power struggles, civil unrest, and you've got a recipe for disaster that will serve millions. That's Republic City in a nutshell.

* * *

_**Lights Go Down (In the City)** _

**PROLOGUE**

_In a world where a significant minority of people can 'bend' one of the four classical elements by training their bodies and minds, only the Avatar can bend all four. The Avatar is the spirit of the world in human form, reincarnated into a different life each time the previous one dies. His or her job is to master the four elements and maintain balance in the world so that all may live in peace and harmony._

_The world was once divided into four nations; the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, and the Air Nomads. The Air Nomads were wiped out, however, when the badly misguided Fire Nation launched a world-wide war. Only one airbender survived; the Avatar, Aang. Together, he and his friends ended the Fire Nation's quest for world domination and restored balance to the world._

_In the war's aftermath, the Fire Nation's colonies in the Earth Kingdom were transformed into their own sovereign nation—the United Republic of Nations, a place where benders and non-benders from anywhere on earth could come to live and thrive together. Under the guidance of Aang and his friends, the United Republic and its capital, Republic City, experienced incredible growth and prosperity._

_Unfortunately, Aang eventually grew old and passed on, and Republic City has since fallen out of balance. The beautiful, once-peaceful metropolis is now riddled with crime, poverty, and growing discontent between benders and non-benders. Avatar Korra, the newest incarnation of the ancient spirit, is the city's best hope for restoring balance, but she has a lot to learn before she's ready to save anyone._

_As fascinating as she is, however, this is not her story…_

* * *

_This is a tale of two boys._

_One, without the gift of bending…_

Blaine Anderson leans against the wall in the dark tunnel, pulling his dark overcoat around him for warmth. The sounds of the city echo off the stone walls—snippets of conversations, distant sirens from police airships, and of course, the endless roar of passing satomobiles, driving overhead like nothing in the world is wrong. _For them, it probably isn't_ , he thinks bitterly. Yes, he is bitter. And he's long past the point of pretending otherwise.

This isn't fair. None of it is _fair_.

… _and one with the gift of fire_.

A light sparks up at the end of the tunnel, and Blaine breathes a sigh of relief. He was worried he wouldn't come.

He moves quickly, halfway between a walk and a run. In the dim light of the flame he holds, Kurt's pale features look thin and worn, framed in deep shadows. He seems ten years older than he is. But then, with short, unkempt curls, deep circles under his eyes and the thin layer of stubble on his chin, Blaine probably doesn't look much better himself.

Still… Kurt should never look like this. This scared, this worried, this _worn_.

And most of it is Blaine's fault.

"Oh, thank Agni," Kurt sighs. "I was worried you wouldn't show up." He lets a hesitant smile onto his face. "It's… it's been awhile…"

Blaine smiles at him, unable to meet his eyes. "I know, I… I'm… it's good to see you again."

Kurt smiles brighter, and it takes everything Blaine has not just grab Kurt and kiss him and take in his scent, his warmth, his strength, every wonderful aspect of his presence. But he doesn't. He can't do that anymore.

He doesn't have the _right_.

"Blaine, I'm so worried," Kurt says, his smile fading quickly. "The police have looked everywhere, but they say there's nothing they can do. I don't know who else to turn to. When you contacted me, I almost cried I was so happy. Please, _please_ tell me you know where they are."

Blaine's throat clenches, and he nods, taking Kurt's hands in his own. "I do."

Kurt beams at him. "So tell me! We'll tell the police and they can—"

"I can't."

And with those two words, Blaine breaks Kurt's heart for the second time in his miserable life.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kurt says, his smile fading like an old photograph.

"They're safe," Blaine says, remembering what he came here to do. "I promise you they're safe, but you have to stop—"

Kurt jerks his hand away from him.

"Kurt, you _have to stop looking for them_!" Blaine says, his voice breaking. "I can't protect you anymore."

"I don't need your _protection_ ," Kurt hisses. "I need my _family_!"

_Two boys, who once held each other close…_

"You'll get them back!" Blaine pleads. "Just another week or so, I promise—"

"No!" Kurt says. "I'm done with you and your promises. It was a mistake to even come here…"

He turns to leave, and just as Blaine is about to beg him not to go… the lights in the tunnel come on.

"You're right," says a third voice, distinctly male. "It _was_ a mistake."

Blaine's heart freezes and shatters in a single moment. " _No…_ "

… _until their different worlds pulled them apart._

There's nothing he can do about it. They come in from both ends of the tunnel. Dozens of them, all in full uniform and mask, goggles gleaming in the orange light of the bulbs overhead. There are too many. Escape is now impossible for both of them.

In some ways, he thinks it always was.

Kurt turns towards him, a look of such betrayal on his face that Blaine wants to fall on his knees and beg for his forgiveness. He might, if he didn't suspect identical looks were lurking under the masks of those surrounding him. " _You…_ " Kurt whispers. "You tricked me."

"No," Blaine shakes his head.

"Yes," the third voice, the Cell Leader, says.

"Kurt, I swear, I didn't know they followed me, I never meant—"

"Blaine, you might want to quit while you're ahead," the Cell Leader says. "Before you give us more reasons to doubt your _loyalty_ …"

"No, guys, please," Blaine says. "Please, not him. He's not like them, I swear, he's—"

"…or to suspect that one of our own," the Cell Leader continues, "one so beaten and broken down by the establishment, one of our proudest members… that he would betray the cause and _lower_ himself to _consorting_ with The Enemy."

Accusing eyes are all around him. Every single person in this tunnel thinks Blaine is a traitor and the horrible thing is _every single one of them is_ _ **right**_.

"He's not the enemy," Blaine says.

" _ **They are all The Enemy!**_ " the Leader bellows. "And so is anyone who conspires with them."

Even with Equalists surrounding them on both sides… even knowing an attack could come from behind at any moment, Kurt's penetrating eyes never leave Blaine. And Blaine cannot look away from them.

"Please," Blaine says. "This isn't what you think!"

"No, it's not," the Leader says. "Because you would never behave like that, would you, Blaine? You would never abandon the cause, not after everything you've been through. **I** know that," the masked figure continues. "But _they_ ," he says, indicating the throng of Equalists surrounding them, "might need a little convincing."

Blaine falls silent.

So Kurt picks up the slack. "And what might that convincing involve?"

"I'm glad you asked," the Leader sneers. "Blaine Anderson," he says in a more officious tone. "In order to prove your loyalty to your fellow Equalists—the ones who helped you overcome your fear, who fed you, clothed you, taught you to fight, and took you in when you had _nothing_ —I want you to disable and capture this bender yourself. Right here, in front of all of us."

Blaine swallows thickly, staring at the ground. There is no way out.

"Well? We're waiting, Blaine," the Leader says. "Are you loyal, or not?"

Slowly, Blaine turns towards Kurt, whose expression is no longer angry or accusatory, simply disappointed and so very, very tired. He already knows what Blaine's answer will be.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine says. He unbuttons his overcoat and takes it off, revealing the outfit underneath; the padded, form-fitting, fire-resistant uniform that all the Equalists wear. "I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do," Kurt says, removing his own thick overcoat, if only to make it easier for him to fight. "You always have. You're just too much of a coward to make it."

To think that everything that has passed between them, wonderful, horrible, beautiful, and hideous…

"I never should have trusted you," Kurt says thickly, tossing his coat aside as he takes his stance.

…to think that it was all destined to end like this… well, he can't help but agree.

Blaine closes his eyes and tosses his own coat away. "No," he whispers. "You shouldn't have."

And he charges.

_This is a tale of two boys, whose love turned to hate, whose joy turned to sorrow, and the one force in this world strong enough to bring about that transformation._

_This is a tale of Revolution._


	2. The Birth of an Equalist

**CHAPTER WARNINGS:** Extreme graphic violence, victim blaming.

* * *

**_The Birth of an Equalist_ **

_Three years earlier, at Hunan Hills Academy for Boys…_

14-year-old Blaine Anderson stops to take a breath on his way indoors. He's almost there. Just a few more yards…

"Hey, Blanderson!"

Blaine turns to meet a full-on facial flood, courtesy of resident waterbending jerkass Mark Landers, one of several reasons why physical education is his least favorite class. He spits out a mouthful of water in the most refined manner he can manage. "Funny," he deadpans. "Very funny. The classics, they never get old, do they?"

"Just trying to help you rinse all that gel out of your hair," Mark sneers. "You look like you're part sandbeetle."

"Well gosh, Mark, I didn't realize you had such a strong opinion on my hair," Blaine says. "Thank you for your input, but I like it the way it is."

He tries to walk away, but the same water that just splashed him forms an ice slick under his feet. He does a quick accidental tapdance and falls flat on his back. Mark and his sycophants howl with laughter, and Blaine just lies on the grass and waits for them to finish. He knows how this game works. He's been playing it for as long as he can remember. When you're one of the only non-benders at a prestigious school full of wealthy bending kids, you learn very quickly that there are certain rules you have to follow. Rules that exist for no one else, rules that no one ever bothered to write down or explain to you, but rules that exist nonetheless.

He lists them off in his head.

Rule 1. _Don't antagonize the benders.  
_ Rule 2. _Don't show them up or make them look foolish.  
_ Rule 3. _When they knock you down, just stay down._

And finally, and most importantly of all…

Rule 4. _Whatever you do, never,_ _ **ever**_ _fight back._

Blaine is a good boy. He follows the rules. Even if they are stupid and make no sense. Even if they only apply to him and the few other kids unlucky enough to be born without bending in an old-money bender family.

Really, he should be thankful. At least his parents didn't disown him (he's heard rumors about other families). At least he was born into a family wealthy enough to pay for him to attend such a prestigious school. Even if they ignore him most of the time, even if all they ever talk about is his big-shot waterbender brother, even if their only response to his problems at school is 'Cooper never had this kind of trouble.' Even if neither of his parents can even relate to him just because he can't move rocks like mommy or water like dear old dad (at least, not without touching them). Really. He should be grateful.

Eventually, Mark and company get bored and wander off. Blaine picks himself back up, feeling safe enough to head to the showers.

A small rock suddenly juts out of the ground in front of him, catching his foot and sending him face-first into the mud. His ears catch the distinct laughter of Dirk Spencer, resident earthbending jerkass, reason number two that PE class sucks.

"Watch your step, Blanderson," he calls.

Blaine grits his teeth, and remembers the last rule. The alpha-omega rule, the rule that encompasses all others for non-bending students in the twisted social games of Hunan Hills Academy.

Rule 0. _You lose_.

* * *

In the showers, Blaine takes a second to just _breathe_. No one else is around, so he feels reasonably safe—something he can't say very often. He's had to learn, from a very early age, when he's safe and when he isn't, and the question isn't as straightforward as it would seem.

At first, the benders were relatively predictable. They'd throw a little water, dirt, or mud at him, maybe light a fire in their hand and hold it too close to his face. Annoying, but manageable. He developed pretty good dodging reflexes, learned not to call attention to himself, not to react too strongly when they got him, because his reactions entertained them. The more entertaining he was to torment, the more torment he received, so he's tried to make himself as boring as possible. _Blanderson_ , they call him. Get it? Because he's bland. And he doesn't have an element. He's boring on two levels. Har-dee-har-har.

The door opens, and Blaine flinches and listens for who it is. Two voices—Nick and Jeff, both earthbenders, relatively harmless. He breathes a sigh of relief. Even if they were feeling antagonistic, there's not much earthbenders can do to him in the showers. No, in the locker rooms and bathrooms, it's the waterbenders you have to watch out for.

As Blaine got older, the kids got more creative. He's had to learn what times to go to the bathroom so that no waterbenders would be around—otherwise he'd be almost certain to get a face full of toilet water, or (more embarrassingly), a strategically placed splash on the front side of his pants. Oh, yes, he learned very well that you don't go to the bathroom with waterbenders around.

With the earthbenders, the courtyard is the caution zone. They tend to hang out in groups, so they can trip you, sink your feet into the ground, or peg you with clumps of dirt from any direction, all without ever losing plausible deniability. ' _It wasn't me_!' they'd say, and the teachers always believe them. Rocks don't throw themselves, but the teachers don't care. They never really have. Not about Blaine, anyway.

The locker room door opens again, and Blaine's pulse quickens at the tell-tale drawl of Sebastian Smythe, firebender and prime candidate for biggest asshole in the entire school (and the third reason PE sucks turtleduck eggs). He finishes washing in a hurry and heads to get dressed.

Firebenders are the entire reason he wears gel in his hair—he uses a special kind that actually makes it _less_ flammable. It's unbelievably thick and makes his hair look like a helmet, but helmet hair is better than no hair. With earth and waterbenders, there are times and places where you are safe from them. No such luck with firebenders. They can get you any time, any place. The teachers are at least relatively strict about open firebending in the hallways, but over time, they've gotten better and better at subtle burns. Fire, after all, comes in and goes out just like that. It leaves no evidence except the red mark on your skin, and that's not exactly a fingerprint.

Blaine towels off and shoves himself back into his uniform (dark grey, to signify no bending, color-coded for easy elemental recognition). If he finishes quickly enough, he might be able to sneak by without Sebastian noticing.

"Wow, Blaine, you're in an awful hurry. Where's the fire?"

Blaine sighs. No such luck.

"No fire," he says calmly, trying to pull up his pants. "I'm just eager to get to class."

"Is that so?" Sebastian drawls. "In that case, I think I can help…"

Before he can even flinch, the distinctive hiss of firebending hits his ears, and a stinging heat hits his naked backside. Immediately, he flinches forward, gets tangled in his own pants, and falls face-first against the lockers. He just _cannot_ seem to stay upright today.

"Whoops," Sebastian drawls from somewhere above him. "I guess that wasn't helpful after all, was it? I've always heard that lighting a fire under a guy makes him hurry, but all it did with Blaine was knock him over. Maybe it's just a dumb saying."

"Or maybe Blanderson can't do anything right," Dirk sneers from somewhere behind him.

"Poor guy can't even stand on his own two feet," Mark calls out.

Sebastian, Mark, and Dirk; Hunan Hills's very own Triple Threat Triad. With teeth grinding in frustration, Blaine picks himself up and tries to finish dressing.

"Aw, loosen up, Blanderson," Sebastian says, walking past him to the showers. "Look at him, little butt all clenched up with rage."

"Maybe we should lay off," Dirk says. "Wouldn't want to get him upset. He might—" _Dramatic gasp_. "—tell on us!"

"Or yell at us really loud!" Mark hoots. "Man, it must suck to be you, huh?"

Blaine remains silent as he grabs his books and heads to his next class.

Oh, if Mark only _knew_.

* * *

The rest of Blaine's week is much the same. For whatever reason, Sebastian has now taken a special interest in him, which means Dirk and Mark are never far behind. On Tuesday, Sebastian 'accidentally' torches Blaine's book report. Now, on top of writing _Dirk's_ book report, he has to rewrite his own from memory. On Wednesday, Mark ambushes Blaine as he's getting dressed and freezes his underwear solid. The only way to get it off is to bang his freezing cold ass against the wall until it shatters and go without the rest of the day, which isn't a problem until Sebastian 'accidentally' burns a hole in the back of his pants.

"Aww, where you going, Blaine? I was just admiring the view!" Sebastian calls as he storms away red-faced, covering his exposed cheeks with his history book.

Thursday, Blaine somehow manages to avoid both Sebastian and Mark throughout the entire day, only running into Dirk in the locker room where he can't do anything. Blaine is so focused on getting dressed and getting out of there before anyone else shows up that he completely fails to notice that his shoes don't quite fit, even though they look the same from the outside. It isn't until he takes a couple of steps in them that he realizes what's happened.

By then it's too late.

Without warning, Blaine's feet jerk to opposite sides, nearly forcing him into a split. Just as he regains his balance, they jump back underneath him, and start kicking out in rhythm. It's all Blaine can do to keep himself from falling.

"Whoa," Sebastian says from the doorway. "Nice moves, Anderson!"

"Look at that boy dance!" Mark says. "He's a natural!"

"He's got his dancing shoes on," Dirk says, moving his hands back and forth, bending the dirt he stuffed in Blaine's shoes.

They trot Blaine up and down the room, force him into everything from the waltz to the oxfoxtrot, hooting and hollering all the while.

"Guys, please!" Blaine calls out, aching legs begging for mercy. "Enough, okay? You've had your fun, just let me go!"

By now, most of the rest of Blaine's class is in the locker rooms, laughing and enjoying the show

"Not _all_ of us," Dirk says. "Who else wants to make Blanderson dance?"

Several more earthbenders raise their hands, and suddenly, Blaine's feet lose all sense of coordination, flying out from under him in random directions. Stuck on the ground with his feet still kicking, Blaine desperately twists his ankles until the shoes finally fly off. The entire room bursts into raucous laughter as Blaine lies on the floor, humiliated.

"Always knew you were a song-and-dance man, Blainey-boy!" Sebastian drawls.

And there it is. The Line. Blaine didn't even know he was looking for it, but now that it has appeared, he feels like a lifelong quest has come to an end. He's reached his limit. After 14 years of nonstop torment, first from his brother, then from his classmates, it is now official.

Blaine Anderson has had _enough_.

He stands up, his face is bright red with fury and embarrassment and exertion. "That's **enough**!" he shouts. "What is _wrong_ with you? What, exactly, is your problem with me? Seriously!"

The room titters in delight. ' _The little dog is barking at us, how precious!_ '

"Whoa!" Sebastian says, still smirking. "What's got your bloomers in a twist?"

"You do!" Blaine shouts. "You and your _jackwagon_ friends!"

And there, Blaine breaks his first rule.

Rule 1. _Don't antagonize the benders_.

"Oooh, such language!" Dirk says.

"Careful!" Mark says. "He's all red. I think he's about to blow!"

"Blaine, seriously" Sebastian says. "Take the stick out of your ass. Loosen up! It's just a little harmless fun."

"It's not harmless _or_ fun to me!" Blaine growls. "Don't you idiots have anything better to do with your time?"

"Idiots?" Dirk says, looking a little less smug.

"Yeah, _idiots_ ," Blaine says. "I-D-I-O-T-S, in case you were wondering, Dirk. I know you have trouble spelling anything with more than three letters—I'm the one you force to do your book reports, remember?"

' _Oooooh_!' calls the room. A few people have to cover up their mouths to hide their smiles. Mark is one of them, so Blaine calls him out. "Don't laugh, Mark. Everyone knows you have a solid C average, and you only have that because the teachers are afraid of your father."

Mark shrugs. "Who cares about grades, anyway? I'm gonna run the family business."

"Yeah, good for you," Blaine says. "You were born rich. It's a damn good thing you were, because we all know that anywhere else in the world, you'd be lucky to get a job as a day laborer."

Several slightly awkward coughs indicate the room's agreement. The crowd is less willing to openly oppose Mark, who is currently sputtering in outrage and trying desperately to come up with a comeback. Sebastian shakes his head, still smirking.

"And Sebastian… spirits of the earth, what can I even say about you? You think you slide through life on your charm and good looks, but the only reason you _slide_ through anything is because of the thin layer of _slime_ that covers your every move. I fear for the day you meet a teacher or a businessman who doesn't want to sleep with you; how _will_ you negotiate? That's pretty much all you bring to the table."

' _ **OH!'**_ The room reels with the heat. Blaine isn't even a firebender and he just burned Sebastian like nobody's business. Sebastian's smirk drops, and suddenly, Blaine notices that all three of the Triple Threat Turnip-heads are very cross with him.

He's broken his second rule of the day.

Rule 2. _Don't show them up or make them look foolish._

"You know, Anderson, now that you've loosened up," Sebastian says. "I really think I liked you better with the stick up your ass."

"Yeah," Mark says. "Maybe we oughta put it back in."

Blaine pitches forward as something slams into his rear-end and knocks him over; his own dirt-filled shoe.

He gets to his hands and knees, but the shoe knocks him flat again. Dirk slams it into him toe-first, like he's actually trying to violate him with it. And again, everyone laughs. Blaine is just a big joke.

Blaine grits his teeth and starts to stand up, breaking his third rule.

Rule 3. _When they knock you down, just stay down._ Broken.

The shoe knocks him down again.

"Wow," Dirk smirks. "Hey guys, check it out. Blanderson is kicking his own ass!"

Laughter. Endless laughter.

Jaw clenched, Blaine starts to stand again. The shoe flies towards him, but his time Blaine is ready. He donkey-kicks it to the side and rockets to his feet before it can recover. With one eye on the shoe and the other on the jerks, he completely misses the second shoe until it rams him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He doubles over, leaving him open for the first shoe, which kicks him to the ground right in front of the Three-Pronged Dickheads. He slams into the floor so hard his bag flies open, scattering his books, pencils, papers, even his hair gel.

By now, several people are laughing so hard they can barely stand. Blaine is prone on the ground, so furious and ashamed that he actually _wants_ to explode.

"Oh, Blaine," Sebastian says. "I like you, I really do. But you said a lot of mean things about us just now. Things we can't just let slide. Now, my friends here would love to keep humiliating you, but I might be willing to call them off… _if_ you do a little something for me."

Blaine takes several deeps breaths. "What do you want?" he grits.

A polished, black shoe steps into Blaine's field of vision. "I want you to shine my shoes. With your _tongue_."

The room bursts into a confetti shower of anticipatory chatter.

"And if I don't want to?" Blaine asks.

Sebastian puts the sole of his shoe on Blaine's face. "You're licking my boots one way or another, Anderson. You can do it willingly, or by _force_. Your choice."

And isn't this just what it all comes down to? Someone's foot always on his face, pressing him down, threatening to stomp him into nothing. Pinning him underfoot until Blaine has to ask permission to _breathe_.

Blaine sighs. What choice does he have? "I'll… I'll do it," he says quietly.

Three triumphant smirks beam down at him as the room begins chanting. He hears a few snippets of a new nickname. 'Bootlicker Blanderson.'

Blaine gets to his hands and knees as Sebastian sits on a bench, his cronies at his side. Smythe leans against the lockers, heads behind his hand, as he kicks his foot into Blaine's laugh.

"Be sure to get all the grimy spots in the arch," Sebastian says. "Those are always trickiest to clean, or so I'm told."

Blaine stares at the foot. At the grimy sole, the little flecks of dirt and hair and gum and spirits-only-know what else. And then something else catches his eye. The lid on his hair gel popped open when it flew out of his bag. And a thought occurs to him.

He's broken pretty much every rule but one.

Why stop now?

Rule 4: _Whatever you do, never,_ _ **ever**_ _fight back._

Blaine grins and grabs Sebastian's leg, yanking him off the bench so hard that it actually turns over. Dirk and Mark stumble away from the bench in shock, giving Blaine time to grab his hair gel. Before they know what's happening, Blaine throws two huge gobs of it into their faces. As they sputter in outrage and confusion, Blaine grabs Mark and shoves him into Dirk. The two stop just sort of Sebastian, who is trying to rise on his feet. It's almost too poetic to be real. With a single thrust kick, Blaine knocks Mark into Dirk into Sebastian, and all three tumble into a flailing pile of outrage.

There is a thick, heavy silence.

And then the entire room erupts into raucous laughter and a smattering of actual _applause_.

Blaine beams. He knows they're probably about to get up and kick his ass six ways to Sunday, but he doesn't care. It'll be worth it. This one moment of triumph is quite possibly the greatest high he has ever felt. He, Blaine 'Blanderson' Anderson, powerless nobody, just publically made jackasses out of three of the best benders in the school. At the moment, he feels like they could _kill_ him, and he wouldn't mind. His tombstone would read _'Worth it_.'

"What's going on in there?" the gym teacher bellows, finally drawn in by all the racket. He steps into the room just as the three amigos disentangle themselves. "Alright, break it up, all of you! If you haven't showered, get in the damn showers. If you have, then get out!"

Well, Blaine knows how to follow directions. He nods to the three humiliated bullies, all of whom glare daggers at his back as he leaves. They're pissed, of course. But under the watchful eyes of the a teacher, they won't dare retaliate.

He smiles through the rest of the day.

For once in his life, he's beaten the benders at something.

He's _won_. And **damn** does it feel good.

* * *

He floats through Friday, still high on the taste of victory, seeing neither hide nor hair of Sebastard, Dick, or Smarm. Instead, he sees the other kids, the non-asshole benders, smiling at him. _Congratulating_ him for taking those three down a peg. It's nice to be seen for once; almost nice enough to forget all the times those very same kids sat by and did nothing to help him.

When his last class is done, he struts to his room and packs his bags. During the week, he boards at the Academy, but sometimes he heads home for the weekend. This week, he's _expected_ at the house. _Cooper_ is coming over for dinner, and heaven knows Blaine wouldn't want to miss _that_ , insert eyeroll.

Still, not even Cooper is enough to harsh his mellow. Blaine coasts through the walk home in a warm glow of happiness, oblivious to the world right up until the world pitches beneath his feet and tosses him into an alleyway.

As he recovers from the shock, he looks up to see three familiar sets of eyes glaring down at him, their faces hidden by strips of cloth. And suddenly, he realizes that his misery is a lot like the ocean.

The further the tide of pain goes out, the more violently it is going to come back in. And Blaine just walked into a tsunami.

"Don't move," Dirk growls, punctuating the command with a stomp, causing Blaine's feet and hands to sink into the ground. The rocks hold him in a painful, crushing grip, but no matter how he struggles, he can't get free. A foot stomps on his chest, driving the breath from his lungs. "I said _don't move_!" Dirk repeats, his foot keeping Blaine pinned.

"That was a tretty fucking stupid move you pulled yesterday, Blaine," Sebastian says. "You made us look bad. Made us look like _fools_ , in front of _everyone_.

Blaine grunts. "You _are_ foo—"

Another foot smashes into his jaw, knocking the sense out of him. His pained yelp is halted suddenly when a rope of water wraps around his mouth and freezes. His skin burns at the cold, though his jaw, at least, is thankful for the ice.

"Don't interrupt," Mark says. "Rude little shit…"

"You hit us where it hurts, Blaine," Sebastian says, kneeling next to him and holding a hand over his heart. "Our pride. Our _reputations_. I have to give you credit—if you were trying to wound us, you succeeded," he says with a small smile that fades like the afterimage of a blown bulb. "But we can't let you get away with that."

The ground releases Blaine and catapults him down the alley, slamming him back-first into a metal dumpster. The world becomes stars, colors, and shadows, too bright and too dim all at once. Every muscle in his back screams at the abuse, and Blaine cries out against the ice gag.

He barely has time to register what's happening before the earth spins him around and throws him upright against a brick wall. He's too stunned to stand on his own, but Dirk has that taken care of—the bricks reach out to wrap around Blaine's hands like manacles, cutting into his wrists and dangling him from the wall like a prisoner.

He tries his best to stand up, to relieve the pressure on his wrecked back. His head sags unsteadily as Sebastian approaches him. His voice echoes, barely audible over the sound of ringing and Blaine's own rushing blood. "You see, reputation is everything around here. We worked too hard on ours to let some upstart little shit like you ruin things for us. So… as much as it pains me to do so, we have to make an example out of you."

Blaine looks at Sebastian and shakes his head, pleading with his eyes, groaning pitifully through his frozen-shut mouth.

"Sorry, Blaine," Sebastian says, "We gave you a chance to get out of this, but you just spat in our faces. Now, let's be perfectly clear—this isn't us. It is, of course, but you can't prove that. We're somewhere else right now, and we've got friends more than willing to testify to that fact. Nobody is going to know who did this to you. But, really, _everyone_ will know." He puts a companionable hand on Blaine's bruised shoulder, and smiles when he flinches. "That's the power of reputation."

Blaine keeps shaking his head, a few tears escaping from his eyes.

Sebastian just shrugs and steps out of the way. "Now, let's not waste anymore time. Boys?"

And it begins.

A rock to the gut. An ice ball to the chest. A stone disc to the ribcage. Impact after impact after impact. He quickly loses track of who does what. Each hit grinds him into the bricks, stripping the skin off his back. Stone and ice shatter with every hit, splitting skin, splintering bone. He feels his ribs crack, one by one. He feels his right elbow smashed inside out. He feels his left shoulder ripped from its socket. He feels his right femur splinter, and his left kneecap explode, and his legs give out, leaving skin and muscle as the only things holding him upright, his tendons stretching, tearing, _shrieking_ at the strain. And it just keeps going. Blow after blow after blow pulverizes his chest, tenderizes his stomach. He vomits and quickly chokes on it, the gag preventing it from escaping. His lungs spasm and heave in panic, jostling his broken ribs.

He coughs. He chokes. He cries.

He tries and fails to scream for help.

No one hears him.

Just as the trauma threatens to render him unconscious, his entire body is blasted with ice cold water. The shock prompts a full-body spasm, injecting each and every agony with fresh new life. He feels every broken bone, every pulped muscle, every torn tendon, every ruptured blood vessel. His body is the aftermath of a battlefield, blasted and ruined and broken in a thousand different places.

The impacts stop. Mark and Dirk back off, and Blaine has a moment to think. And then he realizes something that makes his blood run cold.

He isn't burned. Sebastian hasn't had his turn yet.

As Sebastian steps forward, he flicks out his hands, two fingers extended on each. First he moves them together, then he pulls them apart. A distinctive crackle, a loud buzz, and erratic flashes of blue light, and suddenly, it's all clear.

Why Mark finished by getting him soaking wet.

Why Sebastian saved himself for last.

The firebender's expression is cold, merciless, in the light of the electricity dancing between his hands. "You knew the rules," Sebastian says. "Remember that. You brought this on _yourself_."

He releases the bolt, splitting the air with a **CRACK**.

It doesn't last long. But it's long enough for Blaine to feel it.

Everything. Absolutely everything hurts. Pain like Blaine has never known or imagined races up and down his body, lighting every cell of every nerve with white-hot fire. It fills him up and bursts out of him, his whole body tearing itself apart in its wake, all control lost. Every part of him fires at full strength in a spasm so powerful that muscles partially _liquefy_ , tearing free from bone. His wrists break as the force of his muscle contractions literally _rips_ him out of his stone shackles.

He remains conscious for only the fraction of a second it takes for him to hit the ground. And in that time, he remembers. The alpha-omega rule. The one that encompasses all others.

The one that people like Blaine will never be able to break.

Rule 0. _**You lose**_.

* * *

" _Oh… oh, no. Oh, no no. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Oh, shit fuck."_

" _Shut up."_

" _We killed him!"_

" _Shut up!"_

" _We_ _ **killed**_ _him!"_

" _ **SHUT UP**_ _!"_

" _Ohfuckohshitohspiritsohgods—"_

" _Fucking damn it, Smythe! I told you the lightning was too much."_

" _I told_ _ **you**_ _to shut up, you fucking morons! I need to think!"_

" _What do we do? What do we do? Oh, fuck. We have to hide him. We need to hide the body, we need—"_

" _He's still twitching, badgermole breath. And… wait, what's that smell? Did he…?"_

" _EW!"_

" _Yea, you get shocked sometime and try to hold it in! Here, help me—"_

" _I'm not touching that!"_

" _We can't take him anywhere, people will see us!"_

" _We just need to drag him closer to the street. Somebody'll see him. Come on!"_

" _Oh fuck. Oh man. Oh spirits. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Blanderson! Fuck, I swear, we weren't trying to—"_

" _Shut up! It's not like he can hear you."_

" _Alright, that's far enough. Put him down right— you IDIOT! Don't DROP him!"_

" _You said to put him down!"_

" _Oh fuck. Oh fuck!"_

" _Fuck it. Everybody split. We were never here._ _ **GO!**_ _"_

_Silence._

" _What on earth… is that… oh, good gods! SOMEBODY, HELP! CALL THE POLICE! CALL AN AMBULANCE!"_

" _Agni's breath! Is he… is he…?"_

" _He's still alive! He's alive!"_

" _Is there a waterbender around? A healer? Anybody? Please!"_

" _I am! I'm a trained healer! Everyone, step back, I am a trained… oh, La protect me."_

" _Who would_ do _something like this?"_

" _This city… I swear to the fucking sky."_

" _There, there, buddy-boy, I got ya. I got ya. You're gonna be alright…"_

" _Somebody call the fucking cops! Why do I not hear sirens?"_

" _Everything's gonna be alright…"_

* * *

It's two weeks before he even wakes up.

That much, Blaine knows for sure. Cooper tells him. Cooper is the only one who visits.

Father and mother came by once, and only once, while he was still unconscious. They send their love, but he has to understand, it's just… too difficult for them to see him like this.

Blaine feels ever-so-sorry for them.

The painkillers make time difficult, but he keeps track as best he can. He has little else to do.

At a little over three weeks, the swelling starts to go down, and the doctors start taking the stitches out of his face, allowing Blaine to feel a little less like they replaced his head with a water balloon.

It's around a month or so before they take all the bandages off of the second and third degree burns where the lightning entered and left his body.

A month-and-a-half before they take out the wires and pins holding his jaw together so that he can open his mouth again. Before he can rasp out the names of the people who did this to him. Another week after that before he learns that all three boys have alibis and people willing to corroborate them. That the monsters who nearly killed him will receive no punishment whatsoever for their actions, because the only evidence they have is Blaine's word, and Blaine's word doesn't mean shit.

Two months before any part of him is removed from traction—before any part of him besides his fingers and face can even _move_. His right arm is the first limb to be freed, and Blaine is shocked at the sight of it. It is not the arm of a teenager; it's the arm of a 5-year-old. When he tries to use it, he finds that he is too weak to properly hold a _pen_.

Two-and-a-half months, and the doctors _think_ that they are done with his major surgeries. They've got his bones properly pinned in place, reattached the muscles that tore loose, repaired any internal damage that waterbenders couldn't reach. There will be more minor surgeries, of course, mostly to remove the various things they inserted to hold him together. But really, as far as major surgeries go, they're done now. They think.

(They're wrong).

At about three months, he loses the world again. He doesn't see it coming or going. All he remembers is his blood on fire, every breath a storm of sharp glass, a gentle hand rubbing something on his forehead and a kind voice praying for his peaceful passage to the spirit world.

He lives, but only just. Four weeks are consumed by the infection.

Four months in, and Cooper still visits him once a week. Blaine finds him impossibly grating; all Cooper talks about is Cooper. But he's so bored and so hurt and so damn _lonely_ that he can't tell him to leave, even if he likes him a little less with every visit.

And then, at four-and-a-half months, something happens that Blaine will never forget. It seems innocuous enough. A guy comes in with a basin of water, smiles at Blaine, calls him 'sport' and says it's time to wash him up (of course he can't wash himself yet). Blaine foolishly assumes that he is going to use a sponge like all the other nurses.

When he levitates the water between his hands, Blaine nearly flinches out of traction in shock (which would've probably added another month or so to his recovery).

"I know it hurts, buddy-boy, but we gotta keep you clean. Don't want another infection, do we? I'll up your painkillers a bit, help you suffer through it," the guy says, still smiling. Blaine starts to protest, it dies on his lips as his body is flooded with warm fuzzies.

He's almost unconscious when the water touches his skin, and that's when it happens. That's when everything finally crystallizes. It's been floating around inside of him, vague and formless, ever since the day he was _destroyed_ , maybe even longer. This guy—this _waterbender—_ gives it shape. Gives it form. Gives it a name.

All at once, Blaine realizes how powerless he is. How powerless he will always be compared to _them,_ these superhumans whose bodies command the raw forces of nature. These people who can give him pain and take it away, who can keep him in the world as long as they want or dispose of him just as easily. These people who provide electricity for the machines that keep him alive. These people who control _everything_ about his life, who decide everything right up to and including how fast he heals from the injuries _they gave him._

He makes Blaine _understand_ what he has, on some level, always known.

The painkillers are making him drowsy, and he knows he's too far gone to speak, but with his last little bit of strength, he does his best to communicate. With everything his tiny broken body has left, he projects a single thought at this man whose name he does not even know. A thought that flies from him with such force that it drags a tear from his eyes as it as it goes.

 _I hate you_.

* * *

Roughly half a year— _half a year_ —after Blaine's beating, he is out of traction and cast-free. He's far from healed, though—he finds that out the first time he tries to walk, and realizes that he _no longer knows how_.

A doctor evaluates him, looking over Blaine and _hmm_ ing and writing down things with very little input from Blaine himself. When he is satisfied with what he sees, a nurse brings in something Blaine never thought he would be so excited to see; a wheelchair.

 _He gets to leave his room_.

Blaine is overjoyed. He's so excited to get to actually go somewhere that he completely forgets to ask where he is going.

The nurse rolls him into an unknown ward that appears to be full of contortionists and their slave drivers, and that's when he meets her. She's a mountain of muscle, with arms like tree trunks and a face like the noblest of ancient oaks. Her imposing presence is mitigated only by how soft her eyes are when she smiles at him.

"You must be Blaine," she says. "My name's Shannon Beiste. You can call me Coach. For the next few months, I'll be your physical terrorist."

Blaine blinks at her. "Don't you mean physical therapist?"

Coach Beiste grins at him. " _Nope_."

She's not lying.

Physical therapy is not easy. His wrecked body is still kitten-weak. His muscles are small and stiff, but what's really bad is that he's gone so long without using them that his mind no longer remembers _how_. Coach Beiste's job is to help him with that. She will help him stretch so that his range of motion is restored. No matter how weak he is, she will help him push himself so that he can become stronger. The things his mind has forgotten, she will teach him again.

None of the above is pleasant, of course. The stretching is supposed to stop just below the point where it hurts, but neither of them knows where that is until it actually _hurts_. Likewise, she doesn't want to push him too hard, but _everything_ is hard for Blaine at the moment. Her job basically boils down to making Blaine do far more than he feels like doing, so that one day, he might feel like doing more.

She helps make it suck a little less, though.

Blaine is gritting his teeth as he pushes against her hand with his own.

"Come on, push!" she says. "Feel the burn, kiddo! You are Blaine-the-Pain! You eat agony for breakfast, digest the awesomeness, and crap out weakness nuggets!"

Blaine laughs, and pushes a little harder.

Next, he's lying on a table as Coach stretches his legs. He winches. "Ah! Stop!"

"Alright, alright," she says. "We'll ease off here, Tender-Tendons. Don't get your ligaments in a bunch."

Blaine laughs, and it hurts a little less.

Then, he's looking a little miserable as he squeezes a squishy ball with his hand and barely makes an indent.

"Don't get down on yourself, y'hear?" she says. "Keep that up, and one day, they'll call you the Crusher. Man and beast will fear your handshake. People will come from far and wide with nuts for you to crack."

Blaine laughs, and squeezes until his hand starts getting sore.

Every session ends the same. Blaine is sore, sweaty, and exhausted. And yet, somehow, he feels _better_.

"Thanks, Coach," Blaine breathes as they wheel him back to his room.

"Any time, Blaine-the-Pain, on a train to the plains. Where it rains," she grins.

Blaine laughs at the ridiculousness the whole way back to his room, and just like that, Physical Therapy becomes the highlight of Blaine's day.

* * *

After a few weeks, Blaine looks a little less like the Ghost of Winter Solstice, and a little more like himself thanks to Coach Beiste. He kind of loves her for it.

She always pushes him to be better, to want more, to believe he can reach just that little bit higher. She, in stark contrast to everything else in his life, actually believes in him and wants him to succeed. This, in turn, makes Blaine believe in himself and want to succeed. It's a nice change of pace.

He's training on the parallel bars, trying to relearn the process of putting one foot in front of the other, when something catches his eye. One of the other kids in the ward is having trouble getting his legs to move at all. He eventually gets so frustrated that he sets his pants on fire out of sheer spite.

When he sees the flames, his mind just shuts down. When it turns back on, he's lying on the ground, and Coach Beiste is hovering over him asking how many fingers she's holding up. Which is weird, because both her hands are on him, checking his pulse and feeling for internal injuries, so… zero?

When she's satisfied that he's not going to drop dead, she plops him back in his wheelchair. "What was that? You forget about gravity for a second? 'cause it sure didn't forget about you!"

"Sorry," Blaine says. "I just… I saw something, and I… freaked out a little bit."

"Saw something?" Coach Beiste asks. "What like a ghost? Is this place haunted? 'cause I got a buddy who's a certified _onmyōji_. If we need to exorcise the exercise room, we'll…"

She trails off when she follows Blaine's eyes to find him glaring at the paralyzed firebender, whose pants have been extinguished. His own physical therapist is giving him a firm talking-to about his recklessness.

"Oh," she says quietly. "I think I get it."

Blaine looks away, somewhat ashamed. "Sorry. I didn't… I just… I don't…"

"Hey," she says quietly. "It's okay, kiddo." She pins him with a long, thoughtful look. "You know," she says, "I've worked in here for a solid decade now. Seen kids come through smashed and burned all to pieces in ways that'd make your guts flip upside-down and inside-out. And you know what happened to most of 'em?"

"What?" Blaine asks.

"Bending," she says quietly. "It tears 'em up."

Blaine feels a little less petty and petulant at that, so he resumes glaring at the firebender boy. "It's not fair," he mutters.

"Hey, don't be mad at him," Coach cautions. "Bending hurts benders too, y'know?"

As she speaks, the firebender boy crosses his arms and purses his lips in a blatant attempt at holding in his emotions. His therapist stops his lecture and puts a hand on his shoulder, and the boy breaks down in tears.

Blaine is suitably ashamed, but he can't quite quell his anger. "It's not the same," he mutters, eyes downward.

Coach looks at Blaine again, deep in thought. "You're right," she says quietly. "It's not."

* * *

The next day, she brings a book for him to read.

"I got a friend who owns a bookstore," she says. "Just look it over and tell me what you think."

Blaine looks at the cover. " _Oman and the Three Kings_ ," he reads aloud. The art is colorful and simplistic. The language seems very simple. It's clearly a children's book. "Aren't I a little old for this?" he asks.

"You're never too old for a good lesson," Coach Beiste grins.

Blaine reads the book that night. It's… interesting. It's about a little boy named Oman lives with his friends in the World of the Three Kings; the King of the Ground, the Kind of the Sea, and the King of the Sun.

The Kings are always fighting each other, and Oman and his friends are always caught in the middle. The King of the Ground takes the ground from under their houses, knocking them down. The King of the Sea sends so much rain that they nearly drown. The King of the Sun throws down fire from heaven, nearly burning them alive.

Oman grows tired of the three Kings always fighting, so he goes on a journey to visit them…

" _Why should you be King?" Oman asks the Ground King._

" _Because I am the strongest," says the King of the Ground. "Because I am steady like the earth, and I always do what is best. And because I have a crown!"_

_Oman shakes his head. "Just because you are strongest does not mean you should rule. You are not steady; you always fight the other kings, shaking everything up and knocking it down. That is not what is best. I think you should not be King."_

_Oman takes his crown, and the Ground King is sad, for the ground will no longer obey him._

" _Why should you be King?" Oman asks the Sea King._

" _Because I am the greatest," says the King of the Sea. "Because I am mighty and calm, like the ocean, and I always do what is right. And because I have a crown!"_

_Oman shakes his head. "Just because you are greatest does not mean you should rule. You are not calm; you fight the other kings all the time, sending storms and flooding our homes. That is not what is right. I think you should not be King."_

_Oman takes his crown, and the Sea King is sad, for the sea will no longer rise at his command._

" _Why should you be King?" Oman asks the Sun King._

" _Because I am the brightest," says the King of the Sun. "Because I am nice and warm, like the sun, and I always make things better. And because I have a crown!"_

_Oman shakes his head. "Just because you are brightest does not mean you should rule. You are not nice; you always fight the other kings, burning down and raining fire on our heads. That does not make things better. I think you should not be King."_

_Oman takes his crown, and the Sun King is sad, because the sun will no longer shine just for him._

_Oman takes the three crowns and smashes them. "There," he says. "Now no one is king. Rejoice, my friends, and let us play in peace!"_

_And all of Oman's friends cheer and laugh and play together._

_The Three Kings are still sad, but Oman approaches them as well. "You are no longer kings, so you don't have to fight each other anymore. We are the same now. Come and play with us!"_

_The Kings are afraid, having never lived without their crowns. But soon, they too join in the fun, laughing and playing along with the rest._

_The air is filled with their joy._

_And Earth, Sea, and Sun rule themselves._

_~The End_

* * *

"So," Coach Beiste asks the next day. "What'd you think?"

Blaine grunts and tries to sit up, while Coach gently supports him. "It was…" he breathes. "Pretty interesting."

"You think so?" Beiste asks.

Blaine reaches the apex of his sit-up and collapses into Coach's arms. "Yeah," he says. "But… I don't get what the point was. I mean…" He takes a couple of seconds to breathe. "The metaphor was pretty transparent. The kings were all benders. But… I mean, it's not like bending can just be taken away from people."

Beiste helps him back into his chair and pushes him to a quiet corner of the room to take a breather. After a few moments rest, she turns to him, and says, very seriously, "What if I said you were wrong?"

Blaine looks at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Coach looks around the room to see if anyone's listening before she continues. "What I said you're not alone? You ain't the first to get bent over by bending, and you probably won't be the last. It's a sad world we live in, where people like those bullies of yours can put a kid in the hospital and get off scott-free, am I right? So what if I said there were others out there like us? Non-benders like you and me sick of bending beating everybody down? People willing to fight to change things?"

He can hardly believe his ears, because he is fairly sure he knows what she's talking about. He's heard of it in rumors and whispers; kids at school talking about it dismissively, teachers discussing it in hushed tones, his parents speaking of it disparagingly.

"Are you talking about—?"

"I'm not saying anything," Coach Bieste says, hands open. "This is purely hippocratical. You know, a 'what-if' thing. _If_ I said that kind of thing… would you be want to know more?"

Blaine thinks about it for a bit. "I… I'm not… I mean, I really don't…"

"Hey," Coach Beiste says gently, "it's okay. Calm down, alright? You don't have to answer me right now. Just… think about it, okay?" She smiles at him. "You're still scared, and you've got damn good reason. But you don't have to live in fear. If _you_ want… there are people out there who can teach you not to be afraid."

Blaine sits back in his wheelchair, breathing heavily, unsure of what to say. Do. Think.

"Alright, that's enough about that," Coach Beiste says. "I'm putting the ball in your courtroom—if you ever want to know more, you just let me know, okay? Otherwise, I won't mention it again. Don't want to stress you out, or anything."

"Thanks," Blaine says quietly.

"Anytime, buddy," Coach Beiste says. "Now, let's go get you locomoting again, what do you say?"

* * *

Roughly nine months after Blaine's vicious beating at the hands of his schoolmates, he takes his first steps on his own. No cane, no arm braces, no walker, no parallel bars. Just Blaine and his own two wobbly legs. He walks about ten feet before he collapses into the arms of his physical therapist and sobs with joy.

The doctors clear him to go home shortly after.

He still isn't completely healed, of course. This is just the 'outpatient' phase of his therapy. He's independent enough to go back to the world he once knew and try to learn to function again. His parents will be picking him up in about an hour.

"See you soon, buddy," Beiste says. "We've still got PT twice a week, okay? You've got a long road ahead, but I'm your satomobile mechanic. You need _anything_ , you give me a call, alright?" She gives him a card with her name and address, and Blaine tries not to cry as she ruffles his slightly shaggy, un-gelled hair and walks away. Over the past few months, she's become more his family than his actual family. She understood him and helped him like no one else ever has, and the thought of not seeing her every day is actually kind of horrible, now that he thinks about it.

Still, he's getting out of the hospital. That is a great big giant plus in his book. No more sterile white walls, no more chemical smell, no more bandages, no more crappy bed, no more obnoxious benders.

Oh, wait, he forgot his family. Nevermind that last one.

It's weird, seeing his parents after so long without them. They hug and kiss him, congratulate him on his recovery, tell him he looks 'like a real boy again,' whatever that means. The drive home is mostly silent. Blaine spends most of it looking out the window, rejoicing in a world full of color and sunlight.

His mother forces a haircut on him almost immediately. He doesn't mind, though. Interesting as shaggy hair was, it's easier to manage when there's less of it.

It isn't until the haircut is finished, however, that the reason for it is explained.

"There we go," his mother says as the stylist brushes the hair off of his shoulders. "As dapper as ever. This will be perfect for your return to school Monday morning."

Blaine's heart forgets how to beat. "My return to _what_?"

"Oh, come now, Blaine," his father says warmly. "Surely you didn't think you were going to lie around the house and eat dumplings? You've missed an entire school year. We have to get you back up to speed!"

Blaine focuses everything he has on remaining calm. He has missed a lot of school. He probably should get to work on making up for lost time. Besides, surely they wouldn't…

"Okay," he says. "So what school am I going to?"

"The same one you always have, silly," his mother says.

Oh.

 _They would_.

That.

Just.

No. No. No, no, no, no, **no**. He can't do that. He absolutely **cannot** do that. How dare they? How could they even _think_ that he would? "I'm not going back there," Blaine says, his voice shaking slightly with the intensity of the statement. "No. Absolutely not. I will go anywhere else in the city. I'm not going back to Hunan Hills."

"Don't be ridiculous, son," his father says. "Three generations of Anderson men have graduated from the Hunan Academy. It's the best education money can buy in this city. No son of mine will have anything less."

"I don't care if it's the best!" Blaine says, completely losing his cool. "I'm not going back to the same school as the people who nearly _beat me to death_. Are you fucking insane?"

"Blaine Anderson!" his mother says, shocked. "You watch your mouth!"

"Do not speak to me in that tone, young man!" his father replies tersely. "You will do as you are told!" He shakes his head, jaw clenching. "Honestly, after what happened to you, I would have hoped you'd learned your lesson about the price of your insubordination, but it appears you haven't learned anything at all."

Blaine's jaw drops. He literally can do nothing but sit there, open-mouthed in awe, at the words that were just spoken to him. " **My** insubordination," he repeats flatly. "You… you think this is _my_ fault?"

"Son," his father sighs, massaging his forehead. "There are just certain things you do not do. Everyone has their place in the social strata of Hunan Hills, you have to—where are you going? Blaine? Blaine!"

Blaine is out of the chair and walking away as fast as he can. Which isn't very fast, but still.

"Blaine Anderson, you get back here this instant! Don't you walk away from me!"

He keeps right on walking, refusing to stop until he reaches his bedroom, where he collapses on his bed, exhausted emotionally and physically.

He will not go back. No. No, no way, uh-uh, never, not happening. He cannot deal with those people again. If he has to deal with one more day of stupid pranks, sadistic humor, one more day of looking over his shoulder and fearing for his life, he'll… he'll…

He'd honestly rather die.

Over the weekend, he tries. He tries to make his parents see reason, tries to make them understand why he isn't being difficult, why he literally cannot go back to that place.

They don't get it.

"Just keep your head down and do your work," his father says, "and you'll have nothing to worry about."

And suddenly, it's Sunday night. Tomorrow. _Tomorrow_ he will be sent back to that place. _Tomorrow_ he will again be in the presence of countless benders who seem to hate his very presence. He will have to see the stupid, smug faces Sebastian, Mark, and Dirk, and weather their whims weaker and more vulnerable than he's ever been before.

He can't.

He _won't_.

With nothing but the clothes on his back and a single knapsack of possessions, Blaine waits until his parents are asleep and calls Coach Beiste, praying that she will answer him.

A couple of hours later, Shannon Beiste pulls into Hunan Heights and opens her passenger side door to an exhausted, teary-eyed Blaine Anderson.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" she asks. "I could barely make out what you were saying under all that blubbering."

 _I can't_ , he wants to say. _I can't stay here. I can't live with people who don't understand me in the slightest and have no desire to try. I can't go to school with people who have the power to hurt me or even kill me whenever they feel like it with no consequences. I can't live in this world anymore. I just can't._

But he doesn't say that.

Instead, he looks at the person in the car beside him, and speaks with all the courage he can muster. "I want to know more," he says. "About… about what you told me. I want to know _everything_."

Coach Beiste just gives him a sad smile and hands him a small booklet from under her seat. Blaine takes it gently, and stares at the cover. A picture of a man in a striking white mask stares up at him with impossibly intense eyes, rays of light emerging from behind his head. Beneath his face is the title…

_**Equality Now!** _

…and the subtitle; four words that will change his life forever…

_Welcome to the Revolution._

* * *

**A/N:** I tried to do some research on Blaine's recovery, but I had an unusually hard time finding good info. Plus, the Avatar world is a little different than ours—they aren't quite as advanced (1920s level technology, supposedly), but they do have healers and benders that might be able to help with certain things. His recovery time is a very rough estimate, and I apologize for any inaccuracies.

 _Next:_ We fast forward a year, and meet firebender Kurt Hummel, who is having bullying problems of his own. A chance encounter with a kindred spirit sparks a friendship that may become something more. But both boys carry secrets that, unbeknownst to the other, will set each of them on the path of destiny...


	3. Thunder and Lightning

**Spoilers** : Episode 1.03 of _The Legend of Korra_.  
 **Warnings** : None for this chapter.  
 **Word Count** : ~13000

 **Author's Note:** Now, it's time to meet Kurt, and see how our boys meet each other. The main purpose here is to construct the world around our boys, and highlight their vastly different positions in it; two boys, with two loving, likable, functional families on two completely different sides of the issue. All the juicy moral gray areas and complex conflicts to come start popping in here. ;)

More things you'll see here that you won't see in Solar Winds:

Bike Chanderson friendship!  
Tike!  
Domestic Hudmels!  
Klaine romance that doesn't involve life-threatening situations (yet)!

I've done a few calculations, outlined everything that needs to happen, and by my count, including the Prologue and Epilogue, this story will have **13** chapters. (And don't worry, I still intend to work on Solar Winds while I'm posting this.) Enjoy!

* * *

****

_One year later…_

Kurt Hummel is being struck by lightning.

Don't worry. He's used to it.

Holly Holliday, Kurt's flaky firebending instructor, draws two circles in the air with lines of energy. At the point where the circles touch, she thrusts her hands forward, sending a brilliant blue bolt at Kurt.

Kurt acts as a living lightning rod, intercepting the energy with one hand, letting it flow through his arm, down into his stomach, and up through his other arm, where it shoots out and hits a power conduit that makes a ceramic monkey bang his cymbals together.

"Thunderrific!" says Ms. Holliday. "You rode that lightning like a pro."

"Yes," Kurt sighs. "I know I can do that. I've been able to do that for years. I don't have a problem channeling electricity, I have a problem with _making_ it."

"Hey, don't stress!" Ms. Holliday says. "All you need to do is what you just did, but backwards. Easy-peasy!"

Kurt gives it his best shot, but his cannon is all powder and no ball. His fingers produce nothing but fizzles. "I don't get what I'm doing wrong."

"Clear your mind," Ms. Holliday says. "Empty it of all thought, all emotion, all everything. Your skull should be as hollow as a coconut… that has been hollowed out.

Kurt rolls his eyes. " _Explains why you're so good at it_ ," he mumbles, closing his eyes. A couple of seconds later, he opens them again. "Yeah, I can't do it. Sorry. There's too much up here. It would take _years_ to empty it out, and then, what would I do with all the space?"

"Aw, come on. You're not even trying!" Ms. Holliday says. "What you are experiencing is called 'meditation frustration.' It's totally normal. I will help you through it with a little meditation mediation! Can we get some incense up in this mother? Where's me some candles?"

Kurt massages his temples. "Please, no. No more candles…"

But there are candles. _Lots more candles_.

A few minutes later, the room is rank with incense and scented wax. Every breath is a trainwreck of fragrance, roughly the equivalent of having potpourri hooks in both nostrils dragging him through every section of _Baku's Bath and Body Bonanza_.

"Sing it with me if you know the words," Ms. Holliday says, flopping on the ground in front of him, her weird, silky robes shimmering in the firelight. " _Ohhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm_ …"

Kurt manages about sixty seconds of _ohm_ ing before he legit starts to choke to death and runs out of the room coughing.

"I think that's enough lightning for today," Ms. Holliday says, following behind him. "Your vibes are all wrong for this lesson. We're both vibed out."

"Great!" Kurt wheezes. "Let's move on to something else."

"Nowhere else to go," Ms. Holliday replies. "You, sparkplug, are at the end of the curriculum as far as I'm concerned. Once you've got lightning gen down pat, I am fresh out of funky fresh new lesson plans. You'll need a master or a university if you want to go further. My knowledge well has just about run dry." She coughs. "Whoo, speaking of dry, _my throat_. I need a little drinky."

And she saunters off, presumably to go get plastered.

"Wait," Kurt says. "So what am I supposed to do with the rest of the period?"

"Whatever you want!" Ms. Holliday replies. "Get a snack, sing a song, bask naked in the sunlight… get your vibe back in order!"

Kurt can only gape after her in silence. He's 99% sure _she_ doesn't know how she makes lightning. He's 95% sure she doesn't know how she does much of anything; she just kind of _is_.

Well, whatever. Advanced Firebending is his last class of the day, so he's free until Finn is done. Going back into the classroom is not an option, not unless wants to experience the joy of oxygen-deprived hallucinations. With little else to do, he decides to take a walk around the school and clear his head, his eyes unfocused, his ears listening to the sounds of Piandao Secondary School.

There's the sound of violent sloshing in the pool room, followed by a gurgled apology and a plea for mercy, which can only mean one thing; someone peed in Coach Roz's pool. Kurt sighs and shakes his head. When will they learn that she can _always_ tell?

There's the sound of bored exasperation; yawns and heads hitting desks, accompanied by the tell-tale _whoosh_ of Mr. Schuester blithely sailing past The Point without even braking. It's amazing how one man can manage to be so utterly clueless and still be considered a 'teacher.'

There is the sound of absolute silence, save for continuous harsh ranting and the occasional sweatdrop hitting the floor. Sue Sylvester must be subbing again. When she talks, the kids listen. Because if they don't, she might _actually_ beat the knowledge into their heads, and they don't want that.

As he steps outside, he hears another sound; a loud _clang_ , some rumbling, and a lot of panicked yelps. It's a sound he wishes he was less familiar with.

He leans around the corner, and there they are. Dave Karofsky and Azimio Adams, members of the school's Earthball team. Earthbenders with heads full of rocks. They've released a herd of lower classmen into the parking lot, and are earth-punting them into the dumpster one-by-one. Azimio lets the students run around, using rock walls to keep the semi-herded, while Karofsky picks them off for target practice. It's more fun when they run, apparently.

Kurt surveys the crowd. Mostly non-benders, of course. Always the kids who can't (or won't) fight back.

Which means he should probably make himself scarce before he catches their eye…

"Well, lookie here! We got us a flamer hanging around!" Azimio says.

"Hey, I know that flamer!" Karofsky says. "What's up, Hummel?"

Kurt turns archly. "Karofsky. Azimio. What are you doing out here? Don't you have skull-thickening practice to attend?"

"Not now," Karofsky says. "This is our free period."

"AKA, _free range_ period," Azimio adds. "Show 'em, Dave-o."

Karofsky stomps the ground towards the group of younger students. The earth splits, cracks, and buckles in a straight line towards them. They try to dodge, but they mostly just trip over each other until the ground shoots up underneath them, knocking one of them straight into the dumpster.

"Two points!" Azimio says, slapping some skin with his fellow Neanderthal.

"Charming," Kurt deadpans. "If attacking helpless targets were a sport, you would surely be world-class athletes."

Karofsky cocks his head back, glaring at Kurt. "What are you trying to say, Hummel?"

Kurt groans inwardly. _Stupid_. He shouldn't antagonize them. "Nothing, Karofsky. Go back to your fun and games."

"No, I don't think so," Karofsky says. "Azimio, I think Hummel's trying to tell us something."

"Me too," Azimio says. "I think he's saying we should pick on somebody else."

"Yeah, maybe like a bender," Karofsky says. "Well, I don't see any benders besides Hummel around. Do you?"

"Nope," Azimio says. "Just us three. But does Hummel really even count?"

"Good question," Karofsky says, stalking closer and closer towards him. "It's not like he's gonna fight us. Isn't that right, Hummel?"

Kurt holds his head up. "Forgive me if I think schoolyard brawling is a little beneath me."

"Yeah, you know what _else_ is beneath you?" Karofsky grins, stomping the ground.

Kurt jumps back just in time to avoid the spontaneous earthen catapult that springs up from under him. He smiles tightly. "Now, now," he says. "I've already had my dumpster dive for the day, remember? Puck says you are only allowed one."

"Pretty sure you just asked for another one," Azimio says. "And Puck ain't around."

"Hudson either," Karofsky says. "It's just us three. Come on, Hummel; let's _play_."

Kurt wages a fierce internal war on his course of action here. On the one hand, he has his pride. He always has. Even when badgermole-brained boulderheads are tossing him into dumpsters, he maintains poise and dignity. He doesn't run or cower or beg for mercy—he won't be cowed by these idiots.

On the other hand, he's changed into his second outfit for the day—he always has two, you know. One for the dumpster dive, and one much more fabulous one for after. He's wearing a genuine Wang Fire jacket. It cost him a hundred and fifty yuons. He _cannot_ let them ruin it.

So it's a toss-up. Which is worth more; his pride, or his coat?

In the end, it's neither of them that wins him over; instead, Kurt makes his decision based on the faces of the kids who haven't yet been trashed. If Kurt just lets A and K toss him in, they'll likely go right back to their games, and he'll have nothing to show for it but a ruined outfit. If he distracts them for a little while, the lower classmen might have time to escape.

Very well. He will put his dignity aside for the greater good. Just this once.

"If you want to play, I'll play," Kurt says. "The name of the game is 'Catch Me If You Can.' I think you can figure out the rules yourself. See ya!" And he sprints, cursing himself for his choice of footwear. These boots were made for _walking_ , not running!

"Hey! Get back here!" Karofsky says, springing after him.

"Nobody said you could leave!" Azimio says, joining the chase.

Kurt runs clear out of the parking lot, assuming they won't stray from the school grounds. He's wrong. They keep right on coming, so Kurt keeps right on running.

"Stop right there, flamer!" Azimio says.

A wall of rock pops out of the ground in front of Kurt, but he simply flips over it as it rises. _Thank you, Coach Sylvester's agility training_.

"Hold still, you little dragon fart!" Karofsky says, stomping up rocks and punching them at him. Kurt ducks, bobs, and weaves, and the rocks sail past him. He jaywalks across the street, ducks around and between everyone on the sidewalk, hoping his pursuers will lose sight of him. No such luck; they just bulldoze anyone who happens to get in their way, forcing Kurt to duck into an alley.

It's times like these when Kurt genuinely wishes he could just turn around and send the idiots yelping back to school with their scorched tails between their legs. Sadly, however, that just isn't in the cards. His fire won't cooperate.

Kurt's relationship with his element is a bit… _uneasy_. When he was young, he caused an accident that nearly killed his father. For a year or so after, Kurt couldn't make fire at all. Despite his father's encouragement, he was too afraid of hurting anyone to produce an open flame. Then, he could only make fire when he was by himself. And then, only when he was around his father or someone else he truly trusted.

It's ironic that he can only produce the element that can cause the most pain around the people he would _least_ want to hurt.

It's the reason he's devoted himself so fully to mastering firebending and achieving complete control over his flames; he never wants to hurt anyone he loves with firebending again. His rigorous practice regimen and sheer determination has resulted in Kurt being one of the most advanced firebenders in the school. Which does him a _world_ of good when he can't make so much as a spark around a stranger (or an enemy).

Everyone in school more or less assumes Kurt sucks at bending. So Kurt gets picked on. A _lot_. Especially by these two idiots.

Karofsky and Azimio knock a few bricks loose from the buildings, trying to bean him with them, but Kurt zigs and zags through the maze of alleyways, never giving them a straight shot. It's great at keeping his head and face unbruised; unfortunately, it has the side effect of him quickly becoming more lost than Finn was that one time he accidentally wandered into an AP Calculus class.

Azimio seems to run out of breath, but Karofsky stays on his tail. Kurt takes a hard left and emerges from the alley maze in an area of the city he isn't familiar with. It's amazing how easy it is to get upside-down, inside-out lost in Republic City. You can lose yourself on the way to the bathroom if you aren't careful.

With few other options, Kurt ducks underneath and between a hand-holding old married couple and dives behind a concrete staircase.

Karofsky pops out of the alley, looking around and sniffing the air like he's trying to track Kurt's scent. Thanks to Ms. Holliday's orgy of incense, it might just work.

He's getting ready to bolt when he hears a voice.

" _Psssst_!"

Kurt pivots to see a rather handsome, dapper boy peeking out at him from behind a corner.

The boy glances at Karofsky, and then looks at Kurt. "Come on," he says, offering his hand. "I know a shortcut."

Kurt isn't usually one to grab the hands of handsome strangers, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He lets the other boy help him up, and the two of them take off.

Karofsky spots them. "There you are!"

So they just run faster.

Karofsky tries to earth-catapult Kurt's running mate, but to both their surprise, the boy springs off the earth piston like a pro, putting him even further ahead of Karofsky. Kurt, feeling momentarily inspired, jumps over a trashcan and kicks it right into Karofsky's path, sending him tumbling ass-over-head.

The boy darts around a corner. Kurt follows, only to be grabbed and yanked inside of a store. The two of them duck behind a bookcase, peeking between the volumes until they see Karofsky dash right past the storefront, showing no signs of slowing down.

"Well, _that_ was fortuitously timed," Kurt says between bouts of panting. "My heart is pounding."

"Nothing like a good run to get the blood flowing!" the boy says, just a bit less out-of-breath. "Are you alright?"

For a moment, Kurt isn't even sure what the boy means. "Oh, of course! Yes, I'm fine. He's strong, but very predictable. I learned most of his tricks within a week of meeting him," he says with a smile.

The boy smiles back. "Bullies are nothing if not predictable."

They both just smile at each other for a moment, before Kurt realizes that they don't actually even _know_ each other. "Kurt Hummel," Kurt says, extending a hand.

The boy shakes it warmly. "Blaine Anders— _Chang!_ " he says, his eyes widening just a bit.

"Blaine Anderschang?" Kurt says.

"'Anders' is my middle name!" Blaine clarifies. "It's just 'Blaine Chang.'"

"Well, nice to meet you, Blaine," Kurt says. "Do you conduct daring rescues often, or just on special occasions?"

"I do what I can between shifts," Blaine says. "I work here, actually. Welcome to _Chang's Chapters_!"

Kurt looks around, taking in the warm atmosphere of an old-fashioned bookstore. Plenty of volumes line plenty of shelves, soft music playing from a radio in the background, the air full of bits of dust and paper, rich with history and philosophy and stories of all kinds.

"Blaine?" says a voice from the back. "I've been looking over the your sales sheets for the last week, and I need to—" A stern-looking man steps out of the store's back rooms, and immediately turns scrutinizing eyes onto Kurt. "Hello," he says. "May I help you?"

"Oh!" Kurt says. "I'm sorry, I just—"

"He's with me," Blaine says. "He's… a friend."

The man looks at Blaine. "The facilities are for paying customers only."

"I know, but…" Blaine glances at him for a second, and walks over to whisper something to the man. The man's gaze softens just slightly, but he refuses to relent.

"Be that as it may," he says. "Rules are rules. He must buy something if he wishes to stay."

"Oh, I don't mind," Kurt says, reaching into his pockets and finding little to brag about. "I have… one yuon. What will that get me?"

Blaine ducks around behind a counter and pulls up a small, red packet. He taps a few buttons on the register. "One packet of Fire Gummies; one yuon!"

The transaction is carried out, and Blaine turns a hopeful smile towards the man, whose dubious expression does not change.

"Michael, there is a reason we put Blaine in the front instead of you." A woman enters the room. Both she and the man are clearly of Eastern Earth Kingdom descent, though she looks much less severe. "Stop scaring the customers, dear," she warns.

'Michael's' expression warms shockingly fast. He gives Kurt a small, but benevolent smile. "You may stay as long as you like."

The woman draws him back into the back rooms, and Blaine smiles after them. "Mr. and Mrs. Chang," he says. "The store owners."

"Mr. and Mrs.?" Kurt says. "That's an awfully formal way to address your parents."

"Parents?" Blaine says. "Oh, no, they're not my parents. Just… aunt and uncle." He smiles and steps out from behind the counter, ushering Kurt to a table with a few comfy-looking chairs. "So, umm… feel free to hide out as long as you like. I've got to get back to work, but, please, make yourself comfortable. You can read any books you've brought with you, but Mr. Chang gets annoyed if you read ones you haven't paid for. Just yell if you need anything." He steps aside, and gives a gracious bow. "I am at your service."

Kurt can't help but grin at the gesture. Cute as a button on a baby bulldog's nose. "I hate to disappoint you," he says, "but I really can't stay. School will be letting out soon, and my stepbrother will worry if he can't find me."

Blaine frowns. "Oh, I'm sorry. I made you buy those Fire Gummies for nothing, didn't I?"

"Oh, no!" Kurt says. "I love Fire Gummies. They're kind of a guilty pleasure, actually." Kurt's eyes spot something, and he rolls his eyes. "Though I kind of wish I'd spent the yuon on a _map_ , instead. I have no idea where I am."

Blaine perks up again. "Allow me to remedy that," he says, marching behind the counter and ringing up a map. He puts a yuon from his own pocket inside the register. "On the house," he smiles.

Kurt shakes his head. "Blaine," he says, mock-stern. "You're making it very difficult to leave. Please stop being so adorably nice."

Blaine bows deeply—and, of course, adorably. "My apologies, good sir. I won't keep you any longer."

"You have my gratitude," Kurt says, literally having to force himself to turn around and leave without engaging him any further.

As he makes it to the door, Blaine calls after him. "That's a two-way map, by the way," he says.

Kurt turns around and quirks a brow at him.

"It goes from here to there," he says. "But… it also does there to here. You know." He pauses, tilting his head just so. "If you ever want to come back."

Kurt gives him the tiniest of smiles. He has every intention of coming back—especially now that he's received an invitation—but Blaine doesn't have to know that. "We'll see," he says, with a saucy little wink and a strut right out the door that has Blaine lifting his impressive brows in shock.

Kurt struts hurriedly out of sight so he doesn't giggle like a schoolboy and ruin the moment.

Number one rule of showbusiness—always leave them wanting more.

When Kurt finally makes it back to school, the Jolly Giant-in-Green greets him almost immediately.

"Dude!" Finn says. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you! I checked all the dumpsters, even the really grody one behind the cafeteria, and I couldn't find you, so I started thinking the garbage dudes had already hauled you off to a landfill…" He trails off. "What are you all smiley for?"

"Hmmm? Oh, no reason," Kurt says blithely. "How did earthball practice go?"

"Cancelled," Finn says. "Tanaka's hemorrhoids are acting up again. Uhh… how's your super-special firebending class going?"

"Terrible," Kurt sighs dreamily.

Finn blinks, trying to reconcile Kurt's words with his tone of voice. He fails. "Dude, are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, I'm just fine," Kurt says. "Let's go home, shall we?"

Kurt keeps smiling the entire walk home, and by the end, Finn is fairly sure that someone slipped him some cactus juice.

* * *

Back at the bookstore, Blaine, too, is smiling like an idiot as he absently scrubs the counter. He keeps right on smiling and scrubbing, right up until a hand waves around in front of his face.

"Blaine? Blaiiiiine? You in there?"

Blaine shakes himself out of his trance and turns to see a familiar face. Dressed in the stylish suit and hat of a door-to-door salesman is the grinning mug of one Mike Chang Jr. Blaine blinks at him. "Holy… wait, when did _you_ come in?"

"Like five minutes ago," Mike says. "I've been trying to get your attention this whole time. You were _out of it_ , man." He tilts his head completely sideways, trying to stare into Blaine's skull. "What is going on in that head of yours?"

Blaine blushes slightly. "Well, I… kind of… maybe… met someone," he grins.

"Oh, _now_ I get it," Mike says. "Of course. Only a lovesick fool could wear a grin _that_ dopey."

"I'm not lovesick," Blaine says. "And I can't look half as dopey as you do whenever you think about Tina."

"Hmmmm," Mike says, leaning back against the counter, starry-eyed and smiling like heart-shaped balloons are about to carry him off into space. "Tina…"

Blaine shakes his head. "Could you be a little more besotted? Like, just a little more disgustingly, embarrassingly in love?"

"Only if Tina asked me to," Mike sighs dreamily, swooning from side to side. "I'd do anything for her."

"I'd really appreciate it if you stopped oozing affection all over the place," Blaine says. "Seriously, I _just_ cleaned this counter."

"Hey!" Mike says, spinning around to face him, pointer-finger extended. "You were dripping little hearts all over this thing long before I came along."

"I certainly was not!" Blaine counters.

Mike puts both hands on the counter, getting right up in Blaine's face. "You callin' me a liar, punk?" he growls.

Blaine cocks his head back. "So what if I am?" he says, his voice low and dangerous. "What's it to ya?"

Mike gives him a powerful stink face. "You think you're some kind of wiseguy?"

"Wiser than you!" Blaine says.

"Oh!" Mike says, grabbing his chest and staggering. "I am insulted by that insult! I demand compensation!" He crouches, his legs out to the side almost like a spider's, raising his fists in a blatant parody of any kind of actual fighting stance. "Put 'em up!"

Blaine takes a second to look around the store. Mr. and Mrs. Chang are nowhere to be found. There are no other customers he can see. The day has been slower than a snailsloth on painkillers.

So Blaine grins. "How's about I compensate you right in the kisser?"

And he jumps up, runs along the counter, and leaps into a flying kick straight at Mike. Mike's ridiculous crouch turns into a full-on split, taking him just low enough for Blaine to sail right over him. The second he lands, Mike is back on two legs and coming after him.

"I'm gonna punch you into the second Tuesday of next month!" Mike declares, striking at him.

The two of them begin punching and jabbing at each other at lightning speed. Arms fly all over the place, smacking into each other, hitting, blocking, locking and unlocking. Eventually, Mike slips a hand through Blaine's defenses and catches him in the chest. As Blaine stumbles backwards, he flails out and snatches Mike's hat from his head, flipping it around and placing it on his own head to taunt him.

"You got moxie, kid!" Mike says in his best gangster voice.

Blaine tilts the hat back. "I ain't even begun to mox!"

He jumps onto a table and starts kicking stray magazines at Mike. Mike spins back and forth like a human washing machine, neatly dodging them all. He catches one and sends it back at Blaine, who bends over backwards to avoid it. The move throws him off balance, allowing Mike to charge in and sweep his legs out from under him. He catches himself with his arms, but Mike grabs him and wrestles him off the table, putting him in a headlock.

"Give up, or I'll smack ya so hard, your grandkids'll need stitches!" Mike orders.

"You'll never take me alive, copper!" Blaine replies, shoving a knuckle into Mike's ribs. He hits the sweet spot—Mike's entire left side twinges for just a second, allowing Blaine to slip free. He takes advantage of Mike's momentary disadvantage by jumping onto his back and clinging to him like a monkey. Mike's legs go crazy as he tries to dance around the room and shake the Blaine off his back.

This is the position Julia Chang finds them in when she emerges from the back to see what all the fuss is about.

She is not impressed.

"Boys," she says. " _Down._ "

Mike and Blaine separate like oil and water, standing side-by-side and looking sheepish. "Sorry, mom." "Sorry, Mrs. Chang."

"How many times has Michael told you not to spar where others can see?" Mrs. Chang asks.

"Several times," Blaine nods. "Many, multiple times."

"I've honestly lost count," Mike agrees.

"And yet, you never seem to listen," she says, shaking her head. "I know you boys are eager to practice for your evaluation, but you must do so in private. The last thing we need is rumors that we are training chi-blockers here!"

"Of course, Mrs. Chang," Blaine says sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"I goaded him into it," Mike says, looking down. "It was totally my fault, mom."

"Just see that it doesn't happen again," Julia says. "I'll go tell your father you've returned. I trust you can manage to avoid any horseplay while I'm gone."

She heads off into the back, and Mike and Blaine look at each other for a few moments, before bursting into uncontrollable grins.

"Dude!" Mike says. "You are getting so good! I am legit amazed."

"Awwww," Blaine says. "I'm still not as good as you."

"Well, of course not," Mike scoffs. "But I've been training for this longer than you. I'm telling you, man, you're a natural."

"You think I'm good enough to get through the Gauntlet?" Blaine asks.

"Dang straight, I do!" Mike says, slinging an arm around Blaine. "We're going to take that thing together, and then, it's only a matter of time before we are the most badass chi-blockers in Amon's Army."

"Speaking of Amon," Blaine says. "Did you get what you went for?"

"But of course," Mike says, opening his suit coat and indicating four little posters rolled up in his pocket.

"Ah, my son," Mr. Chang says. "You've returned. Excellent." He looks around the store for a few moments, seeming to note the lack of activity. "Blaine, please begin closing the store."

Blaine's jaw drops. Mike spits out a mouthful of drink he never took.

"You know what time it is, right?" Blaine asks. "You actually want me to… close _early_?"

"Yes," Mr. Chang says.

"Dad, are you feeling okay?" Mike asks. "You look a little pale, maybe you should lie down…"

"I'm fine son," Mr. Chang says. "It isn't as if I have never closed early before!"

"Once, in my entire life," Mike says. "And only because _the store was on fire_."

"Well," Mr. Chang says. "Tonight is a very special night, and I want to ensure that we prepare for it properly and arrive on time. Michael, come with me. Blaine, please close the store. We will wait for you in the back."

"Yes, sir," Blaine says, bowing slightly as Mike and his father head to the back. After a quick check to make sure there are no more customers, Blaine begins the process of closing the store. It's one of those automatic things, something he's done so many times that he barely has to think about it now. After all, he's been living and working with the Changs for almost a year. He knows how it goes.

Blaine would have loved to live with Coach Beiste, but her tiny apartment barely fit her, let alone her plus a teenager. Because of Beiste's obvious connection to Blaine, it was only a matter of time before the police showed up to look for him there, so he couldn't stay with her. Fortunately, Beiste had a few connections…

The Changs were more than happy to take him in. They allowed him plenty of time to continue his recovery, feeding him and sheltering him for free with only a promise that he would work for them in their bookstore when he was able. Things were… strange, at first. Everyone required some adjustment. Blaine wasn't just recovering from physical trauma; he also had mental scars. He would freeze up any time he saw bending. Lightning terrified him beyond all reason. He felt weak and useless, and though he was endlessly polite, he did not want to bother the Changs, so he kept mostly to himself.

Mike was the one who finally coaxed him out of his shell. He came into Blaine's room while he was busy brooding, acting like such an utter goofball that Blaine couldn't help but hate him and love him at the same time. He gave Blaine his first lesson in chi-blocking, and was the main force in convincing him to take lessons.

" _The greatest power benders have over us is fear_ ," Mike had told him. " _Fear kills us without even throwing a punch. If we can overcome our fears, we can overcome anything._ "

As it turned out, the main reason that Beiste knew the Changs was because she taught chi-blocking classes in their basement at night. She'd been conspiring with Mike to get him down there once he felt strong enough. With Beiste as his coach, and Mike as his training partner, Blaine slowly learned to face and overcome his fear of bending by learning how to fight benders. How to predict their every move before it happens, how to use that knowledge to get in close and take them out. The training made him faster and stronger than ever, effectively superceding his physical therapy. Blaine somehow went from re-learning how to walk to flipping off of walls as a matter of course.

As he trained with Mike and Beiste at night, he began working for the Changs during the day. Mrs. Chang was warm and understanding, always willing to listen. Mr. Chang was a bit more difficult; a very exacting taskmaster, and somewhat difficult to please, but always clear with his expectations, and very fair. They were both patient with him as he learned the ropes.

Even now, they often act more parental than his own parents did.

And Mike… Mike is the brother Blaine always wished Cooper would become. Mike goofs off and pokes fun at him, but is never, ever mean. Mike makes him laugh when he's sad, and laughs with him when he's happy. When there is a thunderstorm, Mike lets Blaine sleep in his room, where the thunder isn't as loud. Mike has never once said a disparaging word about any of Blaine's fears.

Mike Chang is Blaine's best friend in the world.

Blaine smiles as he finishes closing and heads to the backrooms. They aren't perfect, of course. The arrangement is still a little odd at times, and it has taken some getting used to. But every day that passes makes Blaine feel more at home with these people. There isn't a doubt in his mind; the Changs are the best thing Blaine has ever had, and he wouldn't trade them for the world.

The Changs are gathered around a table, pouring over what looks like pieces of a map.

"So," Blaine says. "What, exactly, is doing on tonight?"

"No one knows for sure," Mr. Chang says. "All we know is that it is very important. Amon himself will be there."

"Hear that, Blaine?" Mike asks with a grin. "You'll finally get to meet your hero!"

"He is not my 'hero,'" Blaine scoffs.

"You have a poster of him in your room," Mike says.

"I do not!" Blaine says, blushing slightly. "How did you find that? I mean… it's… it's not a poster. It's just a pamphlet—"

"—that you pinned to a wall," Mike finishes with a smug grin.

Blaine crosses his arms. "Amon is just... a symbol. He represents the Equality Movement, which is something that I really believe in and admire—"

"Blaine," Mrs. Chang says, "it's alright. You don't have to explain yourself to us. We all admire Amon."

"Yeah," Mike says, teasing. "Just not as much as _Blaine_."

"Watch it, Mike," Blaine says. "I know where you sleep."

"Both of you, settle down," Mr. Chang says. "I want you to go upstairs and finish your readings before dinner. We must leave at eight PM if we wish to make it on time, so I want you done, dressed, and at the table by 7:30 for dinner, is that clear?"

Blaine and Mike bow and speak in unison. "Yes, sir."

"Good," Mr. Chang nods. "You may go."

Both boys head upstairs, Blaine's mind reeling with possibilities. Both he and Mike are homeschooled—Mike because he wants to help with the family business and Blaine because he is technically a missing child. Mr. Chang assigns them readings every evening, but he's never asked them to finish before dinner, and Blaine _never_ thought he would see the day that man closed down early.

He doesn't know what ' _the Revelation_ ' is, but for Mr. Chang to be acting like this… it must be something huge.

* * *

Miles away, Kurt Hummel contemplates his own family as he helps cook dinner. In the Hudson-Hummel household, Kurt and Carole are masters of the kitchen. Cooking, after all, generally involves plenty of fire and water, no matter what the dish.

Carole carefully levitates the boiling water and vegetables into the strainer, while Kurt strategically sears his scallops with a little blowtorch at the end of his fingers. Contrary to common belief, firebending doesn't necessarily make cooking faster or easier. You can't just blast something with a huge amount of heat and expect to be cooked; it has to be applied carefully, in the right amounts, at the right times, in order to have the right effect on the food. Kurt's firebending enables him to employ more _precision_ in cooking, but it doesn't really change the process. Open flame is no substitute for an oven or a good stovetop.

As he finishes the scallops, Carole brings her boiled vegetables to the table and begins setting everyone's places. She sets down a few candles just as Kurt arrives with his plate of seafood.

Kurt gives her a look.

"What?" she smiles innocently. "You know what to do with these. Light us up, lightbender."

He rolls his eyes, smiling against his will. With two fingers on each hand, he tosses a brilliant orange spark onto each wick, lighting the candles one by one.

It's no secret that Carole loves to watch him firebend, for many reasons: one, because Kurt's ability to firebend around her means that he is truly comfortable in her presence, and two, because… well, Kurt's firebending is pretty spectacular, and somewhat unique. Because he's so focused on controlling the flames, the fire Kurt makes is very compact and tightly woven, fanning and flaring out very little. As a result, according to Carole, Kurt's firebending looks more like streams of liquid light than fire. Hence her little pet name for him, _lightbender_.

"Nicely done," Carole says.

"As always, you are too kind," Kurt says, with a little bow.

"Oh, on the contrary," Carole says. "You are too _good_."

Kurt shakes his head and starts helping her set up plates. "I'm not _that_ good," he says quietly.

"Still having trouble with the lightning, I presume?" she asks, bending ice water into everyone's glasses.

"I don't get it," Kurt sighs. "I have airtight control over electricity. Dad uses me as a _human jumper cable_ in the shop. I control it so easily; so why can't I _make_ it?"

"You're asking the wrong person, honey," Carole says. "I don't know how to make water. I just know how to slosh it around." She demonstrates by filling his glass with an extra flourish. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure you'll get it eventually. You've never let anything stop you before, and I see no reason for you to stop now."

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose," Kurt mutters. "Failure doesn't need a reason."

Carole squeezes his shoulder affectionately as she passes him by. "You aren't a failure until you stop trying, and we both know that will never happen. Now, wash up. I'm going to go fetch the greasemonkeys."

Kurt smiles and watches her go. Carole is a very nice woman. Strong, supportive, with a very firm grasp of herself. She's good for his father, and good for Kurt, as well. The two of them bonded in the kitchen over the art of cooking, and Kurt has recently taken to giving her fashion tips, which she is surprisingly receptive to. He likes her, he really does.

But he still misses his mother.

Kurt Hummel and Finn Hudson do not have much in common, but they do share one big thing; a bending parent who died and left them with an element they do not wholly understand.

Kurt's mother was a fierce firebending fashionista. His memories of her are hazy and indistinct, growing fainter with every year, but there is one thing that always stands out to him: the color red, bright, vivid, so powerful it is almost warm to the touch. Though she occasionally branched out and experimented with other colors, she always came back to red. It suited her; even when the illness seemed to make her fade away before his eyes, her reds remained as strong and vivid and perfect as ever. Kurt doesn't feel quite as comfortable in it, but he always wears at least a little red with every outfit to keep her in his memory. He was only eight when she died.

Finn, on the other hand, was only a baby when his father, a Metalbending Policeman, was killed in the line of duty. For Finn, his father doesn't exist at all outside of stories and a few old, faded photographs from cameras not quite as advanced as they are now. In spite of that (or maybe even _because_ of it), Finn feels the weight of his legacy more and more. Finn used to be a dumpster-tosser himself; now, he tries to put a stop to it whenever he can. Kurt likes to think he is at least a little bit responsible for awakening his stepbrother's sense of justice. Finn has a tendency to throw his weight around where it isn't wanted, and he occasionally causes more problems than he solves, but he has a good heart, and that counts for a lot.

Both Finn and Kurt grew up in houses without a bending parent to mentor them outside of school. Carole is a waterbender, and Burt isn't a bender at all, so both have struggled, at times, with how to manage their children's powers. It's just so much easier when there is at least one parent of the same element in the house. That was one of the first things Carole and Burt bonded over after Kurt introduced them a couple of years ago.

Now they're married, and so happy together it borders on tacky. Whether or not they realized it at the time, their union essentially created the ultimate blended family; three benders of three different elements, and one non-bender to round out the group. If Carole were to somehow pop out an airbender baby, they'd be five-for-five.

Kurt looks out the window as Carole calls for her son and husband. Burt and Finn drop the rags they're using to polish Burt's Satomobile and try to head in. Carole, of course, stops them at the front door, demanding that they go around the back and wash up. Finn tries to reason with her, throwing his hands out to the sides, blasting the dirt on his body off in all directions… and getting it all over Burt and Carole as a result. Burt holds his arms out and gives him an expectant look, so Finn blasts him clean as well, while Carole waterbends herself off.

Naturally, she still makes both of them go wash up.

Kurt washes up himself, finishing just in time for Finn and Burt to come in and sit down.

"Oh, man," Finn says. "I am so freakin' hungry."

Kurt gasps, positively _scandalized_. "Finn Hudson, _hungry_? Get out of town!"

"Stop the presses," Burt jabs gently. "We got a breaking news story over here! _Teenage Boy is bottomless pit! World food supply in danger!_ "

"Hey," Finn grumbles. "It's not my fault. I'm a growing boy!"

"Oh, please don't say that," Carole groans. "I don't know what we'll do with you if you keep growing. You practically have to duck under all the doors as it is."

"Well, if you're gonna turn into a giant, I can always use some extra muscle around the shop," Burt says. "Especially once you learn to metalbend, right kiddo?"

Finn sighs and looks down. "Right," he mumbles.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one having bending troubles," Kurt says.

Finn decides to disengage from the subject entirely, reaching out to grab at the scallops, only for his own glass of water to betray him by snapping at his hand. "Ah-ah!" Carole says. "We bless the food first. Then we eat."

The Hudson-Hummels close their eyes and bow their heads as Carole intones a prayer to the spirits. Kurt is a bit skeptical of this practice, but he indulges it nonetheless. It's not that he doesn't believe in spirits; he's fairly sure they exist, but he's also fairly sure that they don't particularly care whether or not people thank them before they eat. It seems like they would have better things to do than listen to everyone's prayers. But then, he isn't a spirit, so what would he know?

Carole finishes her blessing, and they all dig in. Conversation is easy and light, but Kurt finds he has little to say. Instead, his mind wanders back to the bookstore, and the boy who works there; his handsome, sweet samurai-in-shining-armor. Part of him wants to gush to everyone about the adorable boy he met today, but part of him wants to keep it secret. Partly because he doesn't feel like explaining how he _got_ to the bookstore. Karofsky is a problem Kurt does not feel comfortable sharing with others, though he can't quite place his finger on why.

Finn finishes first, of course, followed by Burt, and both head back outside to finish polishing the car. Kurt offers to help Carole clean up, but she refuses, as always, so Kurt heads into the living room to run through his firebending forms and spend a little quality time with the radio before Burt and Finn hijack it for the evening.

Every night, the family ends up in the living room, listening to the radio together. It's just something they all like to do together. Occasionally, Kurt will convince them to let a little jazz into their lives, or Carole will get them to listen to one of her cheesy-but-fun radio dramas. For the most part, however, family radio time is pretty much dominated by one thing…

Kurt reaches up and turns the radio on, and sure enough, there it is.

"… _evening, ladies and gentlemen, this is Shiro Shinobi, coming to you live from the Republic City Pro-Bending Arena, and I tell you, we have got a hum-dinger of a match tonight…_ "

* * *

"… _some of the brightest up-and-comers in all of pro-bending will be battling it out for the chance to compete…_ "

"Ugh," Mr. Chang says, reaching for the knob and looking for some nice, relaxing music. "Such drivel."

The Changs are all piled in the family Satomobile, heading for the Revelation. Blaine and Mike have changed out of their work clothes, both wearing thick overcoats. As usual, Mike gets the nicer hat; he wears a stylish fedora, while Blaine makes do with a simple newsboy cap.

There's only one stop they need to make along the way, and they're almost there.

"Why don't you ever hear broadcasts about martial arts tournaments, or dance contests, or volleyball, or things _normal_ people can do?" Mike asks sadly from the backseat.

"Just one more thing the benders get to have that we don't," Blaine says. "Sports coverage."

Mrs. Chang changes the subject. "Mike, you did remember to call Tina and tell her we were coming, didn't you?"

"Of course," Mike says. "She'll be waiting for us out front."

And sure enough, there she is. "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Chang," Tina says politely as she opens the door, her all-black ensemble making her almost difficult to see in the dim streelights. "Thank you for inviting me along with you tonight."

"It is our pleasure, Tina," Mrs. Chang says.

"We are glad you accepted our invitation," Mr. Chang nods. "It is good that you are showing interest in these things. Movements like this can change the course of history. It pleases me greatly that both you and Michael are so invested."

"Well, I'm not quite as invested as Mike," she says, shooting googly-eyes at the boy in question as they rub their noses in a disgustingly sappy North Pole Kiss. Blaine plays the part of the little brother perfectly, retching in the seat beside them.

"Jealousy is so unattractive, Blaine," Tina says, giving him a withering look that lasts about three seconds before she breaks into a smile, which Blaine mirrors.

Tina is a native of the Northern Water Tribe. Her family moved down to Republic City for a fresh start after Tina nearly drowned as a little girl. A very young waterbender held a bubble of water around her head, intending to annoy her, having no clue how dangerous that was until it was almost too late. Tina was barely revived in time, and has been terrified of water ever since. She will not approach large bodies of water on her own, and has to close her eyes and chant to keep herself from thinking about it whenever she goes over a bridge. Even something as simple as a pitcher full of ice water can cause her nerves to act up, resulting in a noticeable stutter. Her family had to move in order to allow her a chance at a normal life; she does well in Republic City, as long as she stays well away from Yue Bay.

Tina has always been supportive of 'cutting down the bending oppressors with the Righteous Blade of Equality,' to use her own words, but she has only recently began to consider becoming directly involved with the movement. Mostly because Mike keeps bugging her about it.

"So, Tina," Mike says. "Have you thought about joining one of Coach Beiste's classes?"

Tina looks at him, unsure. "I don't know, Mike… I support the movement, but I don't think I want to become a soldier like you and Blaine do."

"You don't have to become a soldier," Blaine says. "Beginner classes are for anyone who wants to learn."

"Please, Tina?" Mike asks. "You live in such a dangerous part of town. I'd just… I'd feel better if I knew you could protect yourself."

"No one bothers me," Tina says quietly. "Most of the time, I don't think people even _see_ me."

"That doesn't mean they never will," Mike says.

Tina seems to take this into consideration.

Blaine jumps on the opportunity. "Look, it's super-easy. In fact, we can give you a little mini-lesson right now, can't we, Mike?" He gives Mike a significant look.

Mike gets the idea. "Oh, yeah!" he says. "A basic lesson. It won't take a few minutes."

"Alright," Tina says. "I'll bite."

Blaine and Mike grin at each other, knowing what comes next. A year ago, Mike gave this exact lesson to Blaine. It was the beginning of their friendship.

"Hold out your arm," Mike instructs. Tina does so, and Mike grabs her hand to keep it stretched. "Now, fair warning; I'm going to hit you. I won't hit hard, but I want to warn you and make sure it's okay before I go ahead. Do I have your permission?"

"Sure," Tina says. "I trust you."

Mike extends a knuckle on one fist and hits the underside of Tina's arm with an audible _thwap!_

" _Ow!_ " Tina says, flinching away and socking Mike in the shoulder.

" _Ow!_ " Mike says, rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"

"You hit me, you jerk!" Tina says.

"You _told_ me I could!" Mike says.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to hurt that much!" Tina says, shaking her arm.

Blaine laughs at the two of them, and receives two punches for his trouble. " _Ow!_ " he hisses. "So violent…"

"Children," Mrs. Chang says. "No horseplay in the car."

"Sorry, Mrs. Chang." "Sorry, mom." "Sorry Mrs. Chang."

Satisfied, Mrs. Chang resumes quiet conversation with her husband in the front seat.

" _Anyway_ ," Mike says. "Your arm feels funny, right? A little tingly, a little sore?"

"Yeah," Tina says.

"That's because I hit a pressure point," Mike says. "There are pressure points all over the human body that regulate the flow of _chi_. When you hit those pressure points just right, you block them up for a while. Blocked chi can weaken or even paralyze limbs," Mike says. "But that's not all…"

Blaine jumps in. "If you were a bender, you wouldn't be able to bend out of that arm," he says with a smile. "Bending depends on chi to function. If chi can't flow, then bending can't happen. Any bender, no matter how powerful, can be disabled by this technique."

"All Beiste's classes do is teach you where these are," Mike says, gently rubbing Tina's sore arm, "and how to hit them most effectively. That's it. You don't have to become a soldier." His arm rubbing eventually turns into a full-on massage. "It's free for anyone who supports Equality. The benders aren't going to give us anything without a fight. I just want you to be able to fight back."

Tina leans into the massage. "I'll think about it," she says quietly.

"Coach Beiste will be at the rally tonight," Mike says. "You can meet her yourself and see if you want to learn from her."

"She is the best teacher ever," Blaine says. "No lie. I love her to death."

"She is pretty awesome," Mike agrees. "Not as awesome as you, of course… but close."

Tina looks up at him. " _I'll think about it_ ," she repeats, inviting him in for another nose-rub.

They park a good distance away from the rally, not wanting to draw attention to the building itself. Mr. and Mrs. Chang seem lost in their own world as the family walks together. Honestly, they've seemed like that all night to Blaine. They look at each other adoringly, sharing little whispers, just like a young couple in love. Mike and Tina are almost their perfect mirror image; looking at the four of them is like looking both ways through time. In Mr. and Mrs. Chang, he sees Mike and Tina in the future. In Mike and Tina, he sees _Michael and Julia_ , decades younger.

With all the couples and couple-feelings going around, Blaine feels a little left out. Maybe Mike and Tina are right. Maybe he _is_ a little jealous.

As he walks between the happy couples, he imagines the boy from the bookstore walking beside him, looking at Blaine the way everyone is looking at everyone else. And he immediately blushes, feeling silly for even thinking about it. He doesn't know Kurt. They barely even spoke to each other, and yet…

Well, it's a nice image. It feels… nice.

When they get past the enormous bodyguard and head into the rally, Blaine finds himself stunned at the size of it. He's been to Equalist rallies before, but _never_ one this large. There has to be tens of thousands of people here, from all walks of life. He's so busy gaping at the crowd that he doesn't even notice Coach Beiste until she reaches out and yanks him into a hug.

"How's my favorite pupil?" she says, shaking him like a sack of potatoes and seeming to rejoice in him not coming to pieces.

"I was pretty great, until this crazy person walked up and started shaking me," Blaine laughs.

"Ha!" Coach Beiste says, slapping his back almost hard enough to knock him over. "You might be a little shaken, but you ain't bakin'."

"I… suppose that is true, yes," Blaine agrees.

"Just think," she says. "A year ago, I could've knocked you over with a dirty look. Now, you and me could go a round and you might just be standin' when the bell rings!"

"And I have you to thank for that," Blaine says. "I never would've come this far if it wasn't for you."

"Aw, don't say that," Coach Beiste says. "You're punching me right in my heart-guts. Now I'm getting' all wibbly-eyed and emotiated!" She wipes a little tear from her eyes, and Blaine laughs.

The rest of the Changs show up shortly afterwards. Mr. and Mrs. Chang try in vain to offer her a handshake. She hugs both of them off the ground, and has a little mock-spar with Mike. Tina is the only one who gets off with a handshake, having just been introduced.

"So you're the one Mike's been going all floaty and stupid over," Coach Beiste says. "He tells me you might be interested in taking a class or two."

"I really don't know," Tina says. "I still get a little nervous around water. I-I-I don't know if I c-c-could…" She looks down.

"Hey," Coach Beiste says gently. "Don't look so down, sweetie. You got nothin' to be ashamed of. We were all afraid once. That's what these classes are for. The greatest power benders have over us is fear. Fear kills us without even throwing a punch. If we can overcome our fears, we can overcome anything."

Mike and Blaine share a look, Mike grinning guiltily as if to say 'yeah, I _might_ have cribbed my little speech from Coach Beiste, but hey, it's still true, right?' Blaine rolls his eyes at him and turns back to Tina.

"I used to be afraid," Blaine says. "After I was attacked, I would freeze up or flinch anytime I saw bending of any kind. It took me months to get over that, but with Coach's help… I did."

"You really think it might help?" Tina asks.

"There's only one way to find out," Coach Beiste says. "But listen to me, sweetheart; I don't want you to feel pressured or nothing. Ain't nobody here to push you into doing anything _you_ don't want to do. You can lead a gorilla goat to water, but you can't float his boat, am I right?"

"I wish you'd tell that to my boyfriend," Tina mutters.

Beiste glares at Mike. "You been pressurin' this girl?"

Mike blinks. "I haven't… have I? I mean… I have been asking a lot and… but I didn't mean—that is, I was just worried about; I don't… oh, crap." He looks positively miserable. "I'm sorry, Tina. I didn't realize I was making you feel like that. From now on, my lips are sealed on the matter." He zips his mouth shut. " _Hw's thht snnnd?_ " he asks through his zipped lips.

"That sounds like my perfect boyfriend," Tina says, taking his hand. "It was nice to meet you, Ms. Beiste."

"Please, call me Coach," Coach Beiste replies.

Coach Beiste—first name Shannon, apparently—engages in friendly chatter with the adult Changs, while Tina, Blaine, and Mike take turns marveling at the size and scope of the rally, wondering what is about to be Revelated.

Soon, the lights go down, and everyone falls silent.

" _Please welcome… your hero… your savior…_ _ **Amon!**_ "

The crowd cheers and Blaine is awed in spite of himself. This is the first time Blaine has ever seen Amon in person. He looks small from a distance, but his presence is positively enormous. He commands the room. _Everyone_ listens as Amon tells his story, as he tells _all_ of their stories. Because everyone in this crowd has lost something to the benders; Amon lost his family and face (taken by firebenders), Mike lost every home he has ever known (taken by the Triads), Tina lost her ability to function around water (taken by a waterbender), and Blaine lost over a year of his life (taken by all three elements, and that's not counting all the time wasted with people who thought _not_ dumping him at an orphanage was an incredible act of generosity). Every loss, no matter how big or small, is important. Every loss matters.

Blaine gets caught up in the crowd, booing along with everyone else at the mention of the Avatar. He finds himself nodding as Amon says that bending brings only pain and suffering and destruction.

And then he falls silent, as Amon says something that changes Blaine's entire world.

" _Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world… and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar has failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality. The power to take a person's bending away…_ _ **permanently**_ _._ "

Blaine's jaw drops. He looks at Mike, who is still staring at the stage in shock. Tina's eyes are wide, one hand over her mouth. Even Coach Beiste seems a little taken aback. "Is that possible?" Blaine asks Mr. and Mrs. Chang.

"If you had asked me ten minutes ago," Mr. Chang says, "I would have given you an unequivocal 'no.' Now, however…"

"Just watch," Mrs. Chang says.

Blaine turns his eyes back to the stage as Amon brings forth what are apparently several benders. He hears Mike whispering behind him. "No way. No fucking way! Mom, dad! Look, it's—"

"Heavens above. Julia, do you see—"

"I do. I don't believe it…"

A mere second later, Blaine understands their reaction.

" _Now, for a demonstration. Please welcome Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City._ "

The Changs have been hounded by the Triads since before Mike was even born. Every home Mike has ever known, he has lost to those criminals, whether through extortion, threats, or out-and-out violence. Three times, in three different locations, the Changs' bookstores have been burned to the ground by the Triple Threats or the Agni Kais. One of those times nearly killed Mrs. Chang through smoke inhalation. The Changs have only recently been able to find a location outside Triad control, and their territory has been steadily expanding towards them.

" _Zolt has amassed a fortune by extorting and abusing non-Benders. But his reign of terror is about to come to an end…_ "

Mr. and Mrs. Chang draw closer together as they watch what happens. Mike stands in front of them, his eyes shining with emotion, overwhelmed at the prospect of justice finally being served. Tina seems to understand, quietly taking his arm and offering herself as a pillar of support.

Blaine can hardly breathe.

Then, something Blaine does not expect.

" _Now, in the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt the chance to fight to keep his bending_."

And Zolt is released. Blaine tenses up immediately.

It starts out simple enough; fireballs, fireballs, and fireballs, Amon dancing effortlessly around each one. But they don't call him 'Lightning Bolt Zolt' for nothing. Blaine knows what's coming. He tries to prepare himself.

He fails. The second he sees the first blue spark, hears the first crackle of electricity, his entire body goes rigid and he forgets how to breathe.

Of all the things he has faced over the past year, of all the fears he has learned to overcome, lightning is the one thing he absolutely cannot handle. Just the sight of it sends him spiraling back to that final moment before the end, beaten, broken, hanging onto consciousness by a thread, Sebastian's cold, merciless expression in the flickering blue light…

An arm wraps around him from behind, holding him up. "Breathe," Coach Beiste says. "Keep breathin', buddy. You're safe. You're okay."

A hand finds its way onto his shoulder, squeezing it gently. It's Mike's. He understands. Even now, in a moment that seems like it has been coming Mike's entire life, he is there for Blaine.

Blaine's eyes stay rooted to the stage. Amon dodges even the lightning, dashing inside of Zolt's range and grabbing his arm. Zolt continues to fire voltage into the air, unable to stop, rendered helpless in Amon's grasp. Amon twists his hand around, and his body with it. The lightning blasts into the stage, dances dangerously close to the crowd, flickers up the wall and begins destroying the lights hanging from the stage. Amon pushes Zolt down to his knees, and puts a hand on his forehead, and…

And…

It stops.

The stream of energy sputters and fizzles, weakening, no longer able to reach the ceiling. It grows dim, fading into a continuous burst of fire.

And then the fire dies.

Amon releases Zolt, and he falls to the floor. In vain, the man tries to pick himself up and resume his bending offensive. Nothing happens.

" _What… what did you do to me?_ " Zolt asks weakly.

Amon stares down at him, the cold white mask containing not even an ounce of pity or remorse. " _Your firebending is gone._ _ **Forever**_." He looks out over the crowd, and proudly announces, " _The Era of bending is_ _ **over**_ _! A new Era, of_ Equality _, has begun!_ "

The crowd goes wild.

When Blaine said that Amon was simply a symbol to him, he wasn't lying. Amon represented everything Blaine wanted the world to be. He was a face on which Blaine could affix his hopes, his dreams.

Now, however, that is no longer true. As of this moment, Amon has _become_ Blaine's hero.

Because as Blaine watched him on that stage, draining out Lightning Bolt Zolt's power, it was as if he was draining every bender Blaine had ever met. As if Dirk was kneeling in front of him, gaping in fear. As if Mark was on his knees, helpless and paralyzed, his eyes wide with terror. As if Sebastian was wearing that same expression of absolute helplessness as the power he so loved to lord over others was taken from him, never to be returned.

It was as if Amon's hand were on Blaine's forehead, not to take away his bending, but to take away its effects, its power over him. All of the fear, the pain, the anger, and the sorrow that has built up over the course of his life seemed to drain away, if only for a second.

It's an incredible moment.

And then, just like that, it's over. An explosion of steam erupts from the wall, clouding the room and sending the crowd into a panic.

Benders, as is their wont, have ruined everything…

* * *

" _Miko takes a splash to the legs! He's stumbling, teetering, tottering over the edge! Soza goes for the old one-two firepunch—and Miko goes for a swim! It's now a one-on-two battle; the Pumakeets still have Sakura and Soza, water and fire, while the Lizardcrows have only 'Rock'em, Sock'em' Roji. OH! Roji nails Sakura with his signature Dynamite Double Disc Deluxe! Sakura goes from Zone One straight into the drink! It's down to the wire, folks, a one-on-one battle of earth and fire with two of the fiercest competitors in the business! Roji goes for a rebound shot; Soza flips aside, strikes back with a firekick! Roji takes a hit, but he refuses to go down! He counters with two discs low; Soza flips up, but Roji catches him in mid-air, and it's back to Zone Two! Oh, you can feel the tension in the air tonight, folks! This match could go either way! Fifteen seconds left; Roji curves a shot, but Soza smashes it, takes cover in the dust! He's shooting at Roji, but Roji can't tell where he is! Roji kicks up three discs and charges to the line. Soza comes out to meet him! The fighters clash, and—_ "

The feed cuts.

"And? And what?" Burt says, on the edge of his seat.

"Come on! Don't stop there!" Finn shouts, flailing his hands at the radio

Carole tilts her head and examines it. "The power didn't go out. Is it still plugged in?"

Kurt hops up to check. "Looks like it."

Finn flails some more. "Then why'd it sto—"

Another voice comes out of the speakers. " _We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking news bulletin!_ "

"You're freakin' kidding me!" Burt says, tossing his newspaper at the speaker.

"What in the world could possibly be this important?" Finn demands to know.

"Shhh!" Kurt says, turning up the volume.

" _We've just gotten word that the Equalists, Republic City's anti-bending movement, have taken a great leap forward in their crusade to bring down the bending establishment!_ "

"Those yahoos? Again?" Burt groans.

"Ugh!" Finn grunts. "Equalists ruin _everything_."

" _According to eyewitness reports, the Equalist Leader, the masked terrorist known only as 'Amon,' has just revealed a terrifying new ability; the power to remove a person's bending,_ _ **permanently**_ _!_ "

Kurt stares at the radio, stuck between skeptical and shocked.

"Bullshit!" Burt scoffs. "These sensationalist wackos'll publish anything…"

" _These reports have been confirmed by none other than Avatar Korra herself, who witnessed the ability demonstrated as she broke up an Equalist rally. As a result, Republic City Authorities have issued an advisory warning to all benders to lock their doors and windows and have their telephones ready. If you suspect any Equalist activity in your area, please notify the authorities immediately. Do_ not _attempt to engage the Equalists yourself! If you have any information on the identity or whereabouts of Amon, please, call this number…_ "

Kurt's mouth falls open just a bit as he looks to his family. Everyone is on edge; Burt dances between confused and pissed, Carole treads the line between concerned and shocked, and Finn just looks on the verge of passing out.

Kurt is reeling. The shock throws him for so long that he completely misses when the emergency broadcast ends and the post-match commentary resumes. Neither Finn nor Burt seems to notice or care who won the match, which really says something; anything that can get them to ignore pro-bending is a _big deal_.

He flicks the radio off, and gently sits on the couch next to Finn. For several seconds, they all just sit in silence.

"I don't believe it," Burt says, shaking his head. "Not a chance. It's gotta be a hoax."

"Avatar Korra confirmed it herself, Burt," Carole says. "She hasn't been in town long, but she doesn't seem like the kind to just make this up."

"But… there's, like, _no way_ ," Finn says. "Right? I mean… that _can't happen_. They can't just… **take** my bending away."

"Calm down, Finn," Kurt says.

"But they **can't!** " Finn shouts. "That's—like, that's just…" He can't quite seem to finish, his mind too overwhelmed to think straight.

"They have those… those chia blocks," Burt says.

"Chi-blockers," Kurt corrects.

"Yeah, those," Burt says. "How do we know he ain't just doing that?"

"I would hope Avatar Korra could tell the difference," Carole says. "They wouldn't make an announcement like this if they didn't think there was real cause for concern."

The room lapses into silence again.

The Equalists have been around for a while, but no one really paid them much heed; Burt always said they were thugs and cowards for hiding behind masks. Finn said they were a bunch of whiners. Carole shrugged them off as nothing to worry about, likening them to a passing fad.

Kurt just thought they were jealous. Even if he isn't always at ease with his element, he's glad he has it. He loves all the things it enables him to do, even if he can't do them all the time. He can hardly imagine life without it. He thought the Equalists were bitter over being born without bending, and instead of trying to find their own natural gifts, they attacked benders for theirs.

That's what they thought before.

Now, they don't quite know _what_ to think…

* * *

"So," Mr. Chang says during the car ride home. "What do you kids think about all this? We've barely had a chance to discuss it in all the commotion."

It took them quite a while to find their way out of the building and make it back to their car in the chaos of the rally's end. They're only just catching their breath.

"I still can't believe it," Mike says, shaking his head. "Lightning Bolt Zolt chased us out of house and home more times than I can remember. Besides that, he has harassed hundreds, if not thousands of families over the years. To see him finally get what's coming to him… it's almost too good to be real."

"That man has caused a great deal of pain," Mrs. Chang says. "I can think of no more appropriate punishment."

"But is this right?" Tina asks. "It seems almost like chopping off someone's hands for stealing something."

"That was once a very real possibility, Tina," Mrs. Chang says. "This is comparatively much less severe. No actual harm is being done."

"The only other way to stop Zolt would've been to kill him," Mike reasons. "That guy has a laundry list of crimes a mile long, and everybody knows about them, but nobody can ever keep him behind bars. Nothing sticks. He always walks, and the people who went after him usually wind up missing."

"His firebending skill would have made him incredibly dangerous no matter what the situation," Mr. Chang says. "Even if imprisoned, he likely would have caused suffering through his many sycophants and those who feared his power. Now, his power is gone, and his followers have no more reason to look up to him. He must walk as we do, and know the fear that we know. His many enemies will crowd around him, and he will understand what it is like to feel powerless." Mr. Chang nods sagely. "A punishment this appropriate can only be the will of the spirits."

"I guess…" Tina says.

The gentle rumbling of the engine is the only sound for a few moments.

"Blaine, you are awfully quiet back there," Mrs. Chang says gently. "Are you alright?"

Blaine turns from the window and smiles at her. "I'm fine. I'm… I'm _great_ , actually."

"Heh," Mike says. "It got to you, too, didn't it?"

"I feel…" Blaine says, shaking his head, unable to contain his grin. "I feel like I've just witnessed history. Like… like I've seen the future. A world where everyone is on an equal playing field. No more benders and non-benders. Just… people. Everywhere. We would all just be people." He sighs. "Just imagining it gives me goosebumps…"

"With any luck," Mr. Chang says. "You will not have to imagine it for much longer…"

* * *

"I can't even imagine what that would be like," Carole says quietly. "Waterbending has been a part of me since I was just a little girl at the South Pole. I use it as naturally as my hands and feet, I even _feel_ it. It affects every aspect of my life. To just have that _stripped away_ … I can hardly think about it."

There are a few moments of silence, tempered only by ticks from the Hummel grandfather clock.

"Lots of people live without bending," Burt says. Carole gives him a powerful squint, and he quickly raises his hands. "I'm just saying; would it really be that bad?"

"Yes!" Finn says immediately. "It would suck. It would be awful. How can you even ask that?"

"Finn, I'm not saying you oughta lose your bending," Burt says. "I'm asking a question. I'm the only nonnie in the room, kid, cut me some slack. I'm trying to understand."

"Dad, people who live without bending are people who've never had it," Kurt says. "It's never been a part of their lives. To us, it's as natural as breathing. People who are born blind don't miss being able to see; for them, there's nothing to miss. But if you lost your eyes, you'd miss them. You wouldn't even be able to function for a while. You might learn, eventually, but it wouldn't be easy. Because losing a part of yourself—a part that's always been with you, that you've never lived without before—is a major blow."

Burt nods silently, deep in thought.

"They're not gonna take my bending," Finn says, trying to puff himself up. "I'd smash those guys. I'd bury them a hundred feet underground. No way am I letting them get to me. Or you!" he adds, looking at Kurt.

"I hope I wouldn't need you around if I ever met an Equalist," Kurt says. "I'd like to think that if I really, really needed it, my firebending wouldn't let me down."

"I'd bring the fury of an icecap down on those bastards before I let them touch any of my boys," Carole says intently.

"Same here," Burt nods. "Y'know, without the ice thing. Maybe I'd hit 'em with my Satomobile, or whatever. I'd do something, though. I might not get this whole bending thing like you all, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anybody take something of yours that you don't want to give. I love every piece of my family. No Equalist scumbag is taking that away."

Finn perks up a bit. "So… we've got nothing to worry about," he says. "We've got fire, earth, water… and _car_. We're the most awesome family ever. Nobody could take us down!"

"Here, here," Kurt says.

"Dang straight," Burt says.

"I'll drink to that," Carole nods. "Now, you boys are up way past your bedtime; if you don't want me to have to ice you awake in the morning, I suggest you get to bed."

"Good idea," Kurt says, standing up. Finn yawns and stretches beside him, hitting his hand on a light fixture.

"I'll lock everything up," Burt says. "Night, boys."

Finn and Kurt head upstairs to their rooms.

"Night, dad. Night, Carole."

"Night, mom. Night, Burt."

* * *

"Night, mom, night dad."

"Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Chang."

"Goodnight, boys. Sleep well," says Mrs. Chang as she closes the door to the bedroom at the top of the stairs.

When the door closes, Mike and Blaine take a second to just look at each other, basking in the glow of everything that's happened.

" _Dude!_ " Mike says, shaking his head in awe.

" _I know!_ " Blaine says. "This is amazing. This is the best news ever."

"Amon is officially the coolest guy on earth," Mike says, bouncing up to Blaine and grabbing him by the shoulders. "And just think; soon, you and me will join the Revolution as _actual soldiers_. We might even get to _meet_ him!"

"Gosh," Blaine says. "I don't even know what I would say. I think I'd be too awestruck to speak."

"Ah, he'd probably understand," Mike says. "I bet he gets that a lot."

"You think he'd sign my poster?" Blaine asks.

"Ha!" Mike says, pointing a finger. "You admit it's a poster!"

Blaine blushes. "Yeah… I guess it kind of is."

"And you know what?" Mike says. "After tonight, I might just get one myself. Amon is awesome. Soon, he'll be everybody's hero."

"Everybody except benders," Blaine says smugly.

Mike grins at him and makes like a ninja, creeping around the room. "Benders beware!"

"The Equalists are coming for you," Blaine says.

Mike starts spider-crawling up a wall. "We're climbing in your windows, snatching your bending up…"

" _To bed, boys!_ "

Mike freezes mid-climb and immediately falls off the wall. Blaine suppresses a cackle at his antics as he helps him up.

The two of them share one last look of camaraderie before heading to their rooms.

"Night, Blaine."

"Night, Mike."

* * *

"Night, Finn."

"Night, Kurt."

Kurt starts to close his door, until he notices Finn lingering in his doorway across the hall. Kurt looks up at him.

"I mean it, you know?" Finn says. "If you needed me… I'd totally throw down for you."

Kurt smiles. "I appreciate that."

"I know we haven't always had, like, the easiest relationship," Finn says quietly. "But you're my brother—like, not even step. I don't want there to be a step between us. You're my full-on brother. So, you know… if you need me, I'm here for you."

Kurt nods at him, feeling just a bit better. "Thank you, Finn. I'm here for you too."

They close their doors.

Kurt sits on the edge of his bed, bending up a small flame between his hands, letting it fan out and flare up a little more than usual. The motion of the flame is almost hypnotic.

After lighting a candle and setting it on his nightstand, Kurt falls asleep staring into the flame…

* * *

…while Blaine falls asleep staring at the poster of Amon beside his bed.

_That night, Blaine Anderson sleeps like a baby. In his dreams, he dons a white mask, and benders of every element flee from him in terror as he pursues them through the city, relentless in his hunt…_

* * *

… _and miiles away, Kurt Hummel sleeps fitfully, his dreams haunted by visions of himself and his family being ruthlessly hunted down by a man in a white mask._

* * *

**A/N:** And thus, the stage is set! I won't have too many chapters that involve the Glee characters reacting to canon Korra events, but this one is basically the central conflict of the story; Blaine _had_ to be there to see it.

Up next: Kurt returns to the bookstore, and he and Blaine spark a friendship with a healthy side of flirtation, growing closer without realizing the secrets that could drive them apart. How close can they get before seeing the truth? How far will they fall for each other before they realize who, and what, they are falling for?

Reviews make my day. ;) I hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for reading!


	4. Author's Note and What Might Have Been.

So, this story hasn't been updated in a while.

This is due to multiple things, but it's mostly because Korra wound up sorely disappointing me as a series. My expectations were probably a little high, but still, I don't think I've ever seen such an amazing setting with such interesting characters and such a complex, multifaceted conflict _wasted_ so badly in my life.

That's not to say it was terrible. It was certainly entertaining, to say the least. But it could have been more. It could have been so much more.

So I haven't finished this. And to be honest, I don't think I ever will; _Solar Winds_ takes up enough time on its own. But I feel bad for leaving it as it is, so I'm putting up this post as consolation. This is basically a summary for what might have been.

Please note that this summary contains major **SPOILERS** for _The Legend of Korra._

Just to recap...

 **CAST OF CHARACTERS** :

 _Blaine Anderson_ – Nonbender, Equalist supporter. Victimized by benders for much of his early life, received little-to-no sympathy or support from bending family. Badly beaten and traumatized by benders who were never punished. Expected to return to school with the kids who beat him as soon as he recovered. Ran away from home, currently lives with the Changs and works in their bookstore. Hopes to join Amon's army as a chi-blocker alongside Mike.

 _Kurt Hummel_ – Firebender. Lives with his non-bending father, waterbending step-mother, and earthbending step-brother in the ultimate blended family. Unable to publicly bend due to trauma—understands what it's like to be bullied by benders and not be able to fight back. Extremely fine-tuned control of fire and electricity in private. Currently attempting to master lightning generation, with little success.

 _Mike Chang Jr._ – Nonbender, Equalist supporter. Blaine's pseudo-adoptive brother. Also victimized by benders; forced to move several times throughout his childhood due to criminal benders destroying his home, hounding his family, and extorting their business. Helps out the family business as a door-to-door book salesman. A talented chi-blocker who hopes to join Amon's Army full-time.

 _Finn Hudson_ – Earthbender. Kurt's step-brother. If Kurt has bending ED (can't get it up) then Finn has bending priapism (can't get it down). Too strong for his own good and distinctly lacking in control, his earthbending earned him the nickname 'Property Damage Hudson' at a young age. Was once a bending bully, but has recently changed his ways. Wants to protect and serve Republic City as a metalbending cop like his late father. Currently practicing for his metalbending exam, which he has failed twice already.

 _Shannon Beiste_ – Nonbender, Equalist. Works as a physical therapist; helped Blaine through his recovery. Joined the Equalists because she believes bending is too dangerous and causes too much pain, even to those who possess it themselves. Currently teaches chi-blocking at night in the Chang's bookstore basement—trained Blaine and Mike in the art.

 _Michael Chang Sr_. – Nonbender, Equalist supporter. Co-owner of Chang's Chapters. A severe, exacting man with high standards, though his cold exterior belies a warm heart. Supports the Equalists because of his family's repeated victimization by benders. Currently manages his bookstore, hopes his son will follow in his footsteps.

 _Julia Chang_ – Nonbender, Equalist supporter. Co-owner of Chang's Chapters. A gentle, intelligent woman who understands that flexibility can be just as useful as rigidity. Supports the Equalists because she believes in their goals, though their violent methods sometimes unsettle her. Currently does numbers and accounting for the bookstore.

 _Burt Hummel_ – Nonbender. A mechanic who has nothing but disdain for Equalists; figures if he can make it as a non-bender in this city, anyone can. Lost his wife to sickness many years ago, lived alone with Kurt until he met and married Carole. Struggles with being the non-bending father of a bending child. Rough and unrefined, but fiercely loving and protective of his family. Currently the owner of Hummel Tires and Lube.

 _Carole Hudson_ – Waterbender. Southern Water Tribe native, moved to Republic City with her family when she was a small child. Lost her police officer husband to criminal benders, lived alone with Finn for years until she met and married Burt. Struggles with the challenge of having a son who bends a different element. Smart and sassy, takes no prisoners when it comes to her family. Currently lives as a housewife.

 _Tina Cohen-Chang_ – Nonbender, prospective Equalist supporter. Northern Water Tribe native; developed aquaphobia after nearly being drowned by a waterbender. Family moved to Republic City to help manage her phobia. Does not like benders, but is not sure if she wants to take a stand against them, or if the Equalist cause is truly just.

 _Dave Karofsky_ – Earthbender. Harrasses Kurt due to latent homosexuality and his own fear of coming out to his homophobic family. (Earth Kingdom has the most anti-gay culture of the nations—Water Tribes could care less if you're gay, so long as you fit in with your assigned gender role, and the Fire Nation has the same standards for all genders and sexualities; be strong, or fuck off.)

And the only major character we haven't already met…

 _Bryan Ryan_ – Nonbender, Equalist. A skilled chi-blocker and mechanic who believes Amon is the divinely-appointed savior of mankind. Faith borders on fanaticism. Was once an earthbender who accidentally killed his elderly grandmother by causing her to fall. Willingly went to Amon to have his bending taken away, and was welcomed as a brother who 'saw the light of Equality' on his own. Currently the leader of Mike and Blaine's local Equalist cell.

These are the major characters that feature in the story. Others characters I intended to include as cameos.; Sam the Waterbending Swimmer, Artie the Equalist techie, Rachel the Loudmouth Equalist Supporter, Mercedes the Equally-Loudmouthed Equalist Heckler, Santana the Firebending Cheerleader, Puck the Firebending Alpha Bully, Sue the Metalbender.

* * *

Now that we've got that out of the way, we'll get to the actual rest of the plot. I'm starting where the story itself stopped just to save time. Like SW, the story is divided into three acts, though these acts are much shorter than their SW counterparts.

**ACT 1:**

Kurt and Blaine keep flirting and eventually start dating. They date for several weeks.

During this time, Mike and Blaine train with Beiste in preparation for 'The Gauntlet,' an obstacle course designed to test the reflexes and skills of prospective chi-blockers. Completing it is required to become a uniformed chi-blocker (IE: a gas mask mook).

Kurt continues to attempt lightning generation, though he makes no real progress. He eventually gives up on generating electricity and instead refines his control of it. Karofsky continues to harass him.

Blaine and Kurt continue to date. They share interests in fashion and music, both having a great appreciation for jazz and blues. They also both secretly love cheesy radio dramas. It doesn't take long for them to fall derpy-in-love with each other.

Blaine and Mike meet Bryan Ryan and learn his tragic history. Then they run the Gauntlet. Mike performs flawlessly. Blaine literally falls to the very last trap in the course, missing it by _this_ much. Mike gets an Equalist uniform, Blaine gets a pat on the back and encouragement to try again. The Changs buy him ice cream to make him feel better.

Kurt refines his electric control to the point of being able to bend it at a distance. He can draw power from the walls, drain batteries and blow fuses without even touching them. However, he cannot affect circuits that are completely insulated from him, and he can only do this when no one is around, not even his family.

Why?

When he was young, he accidentally channeled the energy of a car battery into his father, severely shocking him. Burt was comatose for days, and woke up with a damaged heart. Kurt has never forgiven himself for this and is terrified of shocking anyone else, explaining his firm grasp on controlling his bending, especially the electrical aspects.

Around this point, Kurt is crazy for Blaine and feels comfortable enough around him to firebend. So he does. The next time they are alone together on a date, he lights a flame on his fingers and shows it to Blaine, mistaking Blaine's horrified expression for awe and explaining his history.

Blaine has to excuse himself for a moment, unable to reconcile the Kurt that he loves with the Kurt-the-Firebender. Eventually, he convinces himself that Kurt is different from all other benders; that he understands what it's like to be a non-bender because of his inability to bend around others. He tells himself that Kurt would never hurt him, and thus justifies continuing to date him. He returns to the table and acts as if nothing is wrong.

They return from their date to see the Changs' bookstore roped off and filled with police officers. While they were out, Tarrlok's task force raided the bookstore and arrested all who were inside. The Changs, Beiste, and Tina were all imprisoned, and the store itself has been seized by the city as evidence.

Kurt naturally assumes from Blaine's horror that he and the Changs were innocent of any wrongdoing—Tarrlok's indiscriminate raids are common knowledge, and Kurt regards them as a miscarriage of justice. Kurt offers to let Blaine stay at his place until this mess is sorted out.

Thus, Blaine moves in with the Hudmels.

This is where Blaine's character development really begins. Being welcomed wholeheartedly into a mixed bending family kind of blows his mind. Though he is initially nervous around them, their kindness and warmth eventually get him to open up. He becomes friends with Finn, and chats with Carole about radio dramas, works with Burt in the tire shop (since he can't enroll in school mid-semester and he wants to do SOMETHING). His experiences with the Hudmels force him to look at benders differently.

Blaine and Kurt also continue to be googly-eyed around each other, though Burt warns them off too much hanky-panky.

Two weeks after he moves in, Kurt accidentally discovers a piece of Equalist paraphernalia in Blaine's room and confronts him. A blowout ensues. Kurt feels used. Did Blaine lie to him? Blaine swears that he was never an active Equalist, just a supporter, but Kurt sees no difference. Blaine wonders why Kurt is so afraid of the Equalists; he thought Kurt hated his bending. He's wrong; Kurt doesn't hate his bending and he certainly doesn't want to lose it. It's still a part of him. Kurt doesn't understand how Blaine could possibly think that taking part of someone is okay. Blaine thought that Kurt, of all people, would understand what it's like to be powerless in the face of people who want to hurt you.

Kurt asks if Blaine has been hurt, and Blaine digs into his things and pulls out some pictures; photos taken of his injuries at the hospital. Kurt looks at them in abject horror, as Blaine explains what happened to him and how he wound up with the Changs. Kurt is heartbroken on his behalf, but remains fervent in his stance that the Equalists are wrong. Blaine admits that living with Kurt's family has made him question a lot of things, and that he doesn't know what he believes anymore. This admission plants a seed of hope in Kurt's heart that Blaine can be 'saved' from his faulty beliefs. Thus, he agrees to keep Blaine's secret for the time being. Blaine is immensely grateful, and they have a make-up makeout session.

After this, Kurt and Blaine begin having regular discussions on the merits and faults of the Equalist movement. Through Kurt, Blaine comes to understand the many things bending means to those who possess it. He sees the good things that bending can do and the wonderful bending-based advancements that benefit everyone. Through Blaine, Kurt comes to understand the many obstacles faced by non-benders, the powerlessness and exclusion they feel from much of Republic City's culture. More jobs are open to benders, popular sports outright exclude non-benders, most major businesses have benders at the top, with non-benders forced to take more menial roles. Through each other, they both come to understand that this is a complex issue with no easy answers.

When Karofsky's harassment of Kurt hits a high point, Kurt confides to Blaine about him. Blaine offers to teach Karofsky a lesson in powerlessness, but Kurt doesn't want that. Blaine wishes that Kurt could at least defend himself with his firebending, but Kurt doesn't want to hurt anyone. Blaine thinks that he might not have to—simply being able to bend in Karofsky's presence be enough to deter him. Kurt explains why he can't; the fear is too powerful, the memories of his father twitching on the ground too real, and Blaine recognizes that Kurt has PTSD.

Blaine himself had PTSD after his attack, and would freeze up whenever he saw bending. Through counseling, therapy, and support from the Changs, Blaine was able to overcome most of his trauma triggers. Lightning is now his only real problem; his most vivid memory of the assault was Sebastian electrocuting him, and experiencing it again is his greatest fear. Because Blaine was able to overcome his trauma, he believes Kurt can as well, so he starts trying to help him using the techniques he used to overcome his own PTSD (real-world psychology techniques like exposure, desensitization, etc). Blaine encourages Kurt to talk about his trauma with people he trusts. He also encourages him to make a small flame and carry it out of the house with him, focusing on keeping it alive even when others are around, and doing it a little longer every day.

It takes a while, but eventually, when Karofsky comes up to harass him, Kurt focuses and calms himself and is able to light a flame. He holds it like a threat and warns Karofsky to back off; to his shock, it works. Karofsky nervously backs away and does not bother him for the rest of the day.

He gets home and excitedly confesses the whole incident to Blaine, who is overjoyed. At this point, Kurt realizes that Blaine just helped him get his bending _back_. The idea floors him. He asks Blaine why he would do that if he hates bending. Blaine quietly confesses that he doesn't hate it anymore. Kurt is perfect to him, and there is no part of him that Blaine can hate. Kurt asks him if that means what he thinks it does, and Blaine says yes – he no longer considers himself an Equalist. Both of them are near tears at this point, and Kurt is so happy that he kisses Blaine. Blaine kisses back harder than ever. That night, they make love for the first time, lost and tangled together, relishing in each other's heat and strength.

In the cuddling afterwards, Kurt sweetly kisses Blaine's scars and apologizes for what happened to him. Blaine says that the worst thing the benders did was take his sense of freedom and safety. The Equalists are taking the same from benders, which is why he no longer believes in them. Together, he and Kurt hold a ceremonial burning of his Equalist stuff, and Blaine vows never to support them again.

Kurt says that he believes non-benders deserve better treatment, and that he supports _true_ equality; equal opportunity for everyone to be their best. He now sees his bending as a blessing to be used to help others, not a curse with which to hurt them. Kurt vows that he will never use his bending to harm or bully another person.

This is the end of the first act and the high point of the story, because we know that before it's over with, the world will make liars of them both.

**ACT 2:**

A couple weeks later, Blaine is fetching coffee for Burt when he runs into a familiar face: _Mike Chang_.

Turns out, Mike barely escaped Tarrlok's raid thanks to his Equalist training, and was forced to go into hiding. He thought Blaine was captured, and is overjoyed to see him. He gives Blaine a huge hug.

They sit down for coffee together. Mike reveals he has been working with Bryan Ryan's Equalist Cell to try and get his parents and Tina out of prison. During the raid, Tina was attacked by a waterbender and suffered a panic attack. Ever since, she has been quiet and downtrodden, stuttering so badly she can barely speak. Mike believes they are keeping her in the same cell block as benders, which would only worsen her anxiety.

His parents are both thin and tired-looking, and because of Tarrlok's increasing abuse of the justice system, it's unlikely they will be released any time soon. The prisons are becoming more and more crowded, and fights break out regularly. He is worried about Tina and his parents' safety; he wants Blaine to join him in helping to free them.

Blaine is torn. On the one hand, Mike is his best friend and more of a brother than his actual brother. The Changs were wonderful and made him feel like he was truly one of them. They helped him overcome his trauma and were always patient and kind. He owes them so much.

But he swore to Kurt he would never support the Equalists again, and he no longer believes in Amon's methods. He explains to Mike that he's only just gotten his life back in order and that he is living with his boyfriend and does not want to endanger his family (not mentioning they are benders). To his shock, Mike understands and doesn't blame Blaine. He thinks Blaine deserves a little slice of heaven after the hell he was put through. Blaine is immensely relieved.

Before they part, Mike asks him if he wants to finish the Gauntlet. He knows Blaine has it in him to complete it, and he was looking forward to seeing him try again. Blaine agrees to do it just for fun, as long as no one's around. Mike takes him to it, and Blaine successfully completes the course, thrilled that he has forgotten nothing. Mike gives him raucous applause—as does Bryan Ryan, who was secretly watching from the wings.

Bryan has always found Blaine's story particularly striking, and is happy to see him joining up. He offers Blaine a uniform, but Mike declines on his behalf, saying that Blaine just found safety and stability and that he deserves to keep it. Bryan Ryan accepts this, though he says that there is always a place for Blaine if he wants it. He hands Blaine the mask and says it's his whenever he needs it. Blaine thinks about throwing it away, but Mike encourages him to keep it as a reminder that the benders did not defeat him, and that he can do anything he sets his mind to.

Blaine gets Mike's contact info, and they part amicably. Blaine quietly stuffs the mask into the back of his closet and forgets about it.

Mere days later, the Hudmels are listening to the Pro-Bending Championship on the radio when Amon attacks the stadium.

The war has begun.

As Equalist activity escalates, the atmosphere in Republic City becomes more and more tense. Burt and Carole become fiercely protective of Finn and Kurt. Carole starts driving them to and from school rather than letting them walk. Burt insists they travel together and be wary of non-benders like that Rachel girl Finn has his eye on.

Blaine hopes that their attitude shifts will blow over, but things only get worse. Blaine comes into the shop one day to find that several people are missing; Burt fired them because he suspected they had Equalist leanings. Blaine is aghast. It's one thing to protect yourself, but it's quite another to attack someone's livelihood over their beliefs. Burt won't listen – as far as he's concerned, those people posed a threat to his family, and he's glad they're gone.

Carole starts petitioning the school board to expel the children of people with Equalist ties because they pose a security risk. Kurt tries to dissuade her, but his pleas fall on deaf ears – the Equalists are targeting young people and the fact that they went after the Avatar shows that no bender is safe.

Finn takes it upon himself to police the school and subjects non-bending students to fierce scrutiny. He refuses to see how similar this is to the bullying he used to do, no matter how much Kurt tells him. He talks trash about the Equalists more and more, and Burt and Carole do little to dissuade him. Blaine remains silent during this, though Kurt can tell it is causing him distress and usually tries to change the subject.

Eventually, both Blaine and Kurt get fed up with their family's behavior and call them out, trying to get them to see reason. Burt and Carole just dismiss them as kids who don't understand things; they don't know what it's like to be parents in a world that threatens their kids.

Finn, on the other hand, begins to suspect Blaine is secretly one of **them**.

You can see where this is going.

One day, while Blaine is out with Kurt, Finn searches through his room and finds the mask. When they get home, all three Hudmels are waiting for them outside. They accuse Blaine of being an Equalist. Blaine tries to explain himself, but they talk over him. Of course he is an Equalist. His family was arrested for being Equalists and are still in prison, meaning they must be guilty. He's always arguing about equality. They can't believe they didn't see it before. He lied to them, abused their hospitality and tried to corrupt their son.

Blaine just stands there as accusation after accusation is thrown at him. Kurt tries to calm everyone down, but all he does is make them yell louder. The argument escalates until Finn physically goes after Blaine and Kurt holds him back. Finn throws Kurt off so hard he accidentally earthbends at him. On pure instinct, Blaine chi-blocks him to stop the attack from hitting Kurt.

That moment seals his fate.

Blaine tries to apologize, but Carole waterblasts him into the street before he can open his mouth. Burt runs into the house to call the police while Carole chases Blaine off of her property and orders him to stay away from her family. Blaine now sees that there is no way to change their minds.

He runs away with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Kurt fucking _loses_ it on his family, and they lose it right back. Did Kurt know the whole time? How could he keep that from them? Kurt didn't know when he invited Blaine in. They don't know what happened to him! They don't need to know – nothing excuses what the Equalists do to people. But Blaine wasn't an Equalist! He changed! He swore off the Equalists forever; they even burned all his Equalist stuff. Burt holds up the mask. Explain this. Kurt can't. It can't be Blaine's. Finn says they found it in his room. Kurt says that doesn't mean anything. Carole says it does – either he had it before and he hid it from Kurt, or he got it after he made his vow, meaning he broke it. Kurt insists that it can't be true, but he can't refute them. Burt hugs him. It's okay. They all thought he was a good kid. Blaine had everyone fooled.

Kurt carries the mask to his room, trying to think of another explanation. He can't.

He burns the mask.

The next day, Blaine calls him from a phone booth. He spent the night on the streets and he is very cold, can he come back now? Kurt asks him to explain the mask. Blaine says he got it from Mike. Kurt says he thought Mike was in prison. Blaine says he escaped capture and he's trying to free his family.

Kurt asks if Mike is an Equalist. Blaine pauses. Yes, Mike is an Equalist.

Kurt has heard enough. Blaine swore that he would never associate with them again. Blaine says he never thought he would see Mike again, and it's not like Blaine himself is an Equalist, Mike is like a brother to him, he can't just cut ties— but Kurt won't have it. As far as he's concerned, Blaine knows Mike is a criminal and a terrorist but refuses to turn him in, making him just as bad. Blaine pleads for forgiveness. Kurt refuses; Blaine broke his vow, lied to Kurt, and broke his heart.

He tells Blaine he never wants to see him again, and hangs up.

Blaine is stunned. He wanders the streets like the undead, unable to figure out how things went so wrong. He thought for sure Kurt would trust him.

Is Kurt right? Did he break his vow? Is he supporting the Equalists just by knowing Mike is free and not doing anything?

No. Blaine is not in the wrong here. _They_ are. None of them would listen to him. None of them would even hear him out. They didn't care that he never did anything for the Equalists, they didn't care that he didn't support them anymore, they didn't care about him at all; the second they found that mask, they discarded him like trash. They decided his fate without even consulting him, just like his family used to do. Just like benders always have. He thought they loved him. He was wrong.

Two days later, he turns up angry and tearful on Mike's doorstep. Mike hugs him before he even speaks.

The Hudmels sit around the radio, sullen and silent. The news is bad. More Equalist attacks. Suspicions of Equalist activity. What to do if there are Equalists in your neighborhood. Equalists, Equalists, Equalists. Kurt cannot listen anymore. He excuses himself and walks upstairs.

Blaine, too, walks up a set of stairs.

Kurt steps into Blaine's old room. Blaine steps into a dark room full of people. Kurt walks over to Blaine's bed and falls on his knees. Blaine walks to the center of the room and kneels. Kurt finds Blaine's photographs under his bed; not his injury pictures, his happy ones. Blaine and the Changs, Blaine and Mike hanging out, Blaine smiling in the Chang family portrait as if he belonged there.

Blaine is not smiling as he swears loyalty to Amon. Bryan Ryan touches his forehead, symbolically opening his 'Light' chakra and dispelling all illusions.

Burt comes into the room and quietly places a hand on his son's shoulder.

Blaine rises. Mike runs into the circle and wraps him in a hug.

Kurt rises and hugs his father.

For different reasons, all of them are crying.

End of Act 2.

**ACT 3:**

Weeks later, the war has intensified. Tension and distrust between benders and nons is at an all-time high.

The Hudmels are remorseful. Kurt showed them Blaine's hospital photos and his story broke their hearts just as surely as it broke his own. Burt says even if he was an Equalist, they shouldn't have kicked him to the curb like that. He's just a kid.

Not much they can do about it now, though. He's gone, and they've got no way to get in touch.

 _And_ , Kurt thinks, _thanks to me, he's not likely to get in touch with us_.

Blaine is now a full-time Equalist, along with Mike. By day, they meet and befriend other Equalists. By night, they don masks and play all sorts of roles. Some nights they are thieves. Some nights they are liberators. Some nights they are saviors. Some nights they are honest-to-God terrorists.

They become whatever they have to be for the movement.

Blaine quickly becomes popular among the Equalists because of his kindness and charm. He listens well and is always supportive of others. He happily helps people with their problems, but always hides his own…

He still does not agree with the Equalists' methods. The violence and destruction make him sick to his stomach. He justifies it in many ways—I am only following orders, it has to be someone, I'm doing more good than bad, there is no other way, et cetera. He says this, but he does not know if he believes it.

He is worried about Mike. Mike seems to enjoy their work as Equalists. He has started hitting benders a little harder than he has to. He relishes the fear in their eyes when they see him. He says _benders_ as if it is a filthy word, and regards them with disdain. He is still kind, friendly, and playful with Blaine, and people in general.

He just no longer views benders as people.

At school, Karofsky discovers that Kurt's threats are empty; he won't actually burn anyone, no matter what they do to him. His harassment has picked up tenfold, and Kurt no longer feels safe in school.

One day, Finn finds Kurt crying alone and finally gets the truth from him. Finn is incensed. Why didn't you tell mom and Burt? Because it won't help anything, please don't tell them.

Finn doesn't. Instead, he confronts Karofsky the next day and publicly challenges him to a fight. Puck (the Firebending Alpha-Bully) overhears this and decides to make it a public event, an Earthbending Agni-Kai. A venue is chosen. Tickets are sold. Bets are placed. Students jump on the distraction, eager to forget the growing conflict around them.

Kurt begs Finn to back out of it – the last time Finn got into a fight, he knocked the wall out of a house. The police let him off with a warning, but if he causes serious damage again, they will charge him. He will have a criminal record, forever barring him from his dream of becoming a cop. But the fight is public; if Finn backs out now, the entire student body will think of him as a loser. His reputation will be ruined. Kurt doesn't care about his reputation, he cares about his _future_ – but Finn won't listen.

Finn heads to the fight. Kurt runs home and confesses everything. Burt and Carole admonish him for keeping secrets for so long, but they promise to get the Karofsky situation sorted out – right after they sort out Finn. They drive off to stop the fight, while Kurt stays at home.

Meanwhile, Mike has a surprise for Blaine – a bully bust. A source from a local school told him that three big bending bullies were gearing up for a fight nearby. Blaine has seemed down lately, and Mike wants to cheer him up. He knows Blaine hates bullies, and they need more bending prisoners anyway, so why not?

Blaine is touched. He and Mike head to the fight with the rest of their cell.

Karofsky and Finn prepare for battle in an abandoned parking lot. Puck is referee. Students cheer for them as the fight begins. Karofsky quickly gains an edge because Finn is trying so hard to be careful. Finn is on the verge of losing when suddenly, smoke bombs rain down around them. The Equalists are here. The crowd scatters, several of them running right into Equalist hands. Puck is taken down from behind. Karofsky and Finn work together to fend off the assault. Finn goes whole hog and his wild, uncoordinated bending causes so much chaos that the Equalists briefly consider fleeing.

Enter Blaine and Mike, dancing just out of reach in the smoke, teasing Finn and baiting him. His efforts to hit them quickly tire him out and Blaine moves in to take him down. The smoke obscures his face until Blaine has already paralyzed him.

A few feet away, Mike breaks Karofsky's arm and knocks him out.

Blaine can't believe it's Finn, even as he drags his unconscious body to the truck. He's trying to figure out a way to get him out of there when suddenly, there's the sound of squealing tires. Carole jumps out of the car, takes one look at the Equalists with her son, and goes full-on mama tsunami. Hell hath no fury like a waterbender protecting her kid. Not even Mike can get close enough to take her down—it's up to Bryan Ryan to hit her with a cheapshot tazer from behind and shock her into unconsciousness.

Upon seeing his wife go down, Burt tries to run them down with his car. They blind him with a flashbang and he crashes, knocking himself out.

Blaine can only watch as the Hudmels are bound, gagged, and carted off to prison.

Back at home, Kurt falls asleep on the couch waiting for his family to return.

Bryan Ryan HQ – an abandoned asylum in the mountains near Republic City, shut down by Avatar Aang in the last years of his life and reclaimed by the Equalists as a prison. The Hudmels are thrown in a cell block with dozens of other benders. Blaine tries to communicate through notes hidden in their food, but Finn keeps eating them, so he waits until no one is around and unmasks himself in front of them.

Shockingly, the Hudmels are happy to see him, but only because they expect he is there to set them free. He isn't – even if he wanted to, there's no way he could get them out of there right now. He promises they will not be harmed, and that they will be released after Amon arrives in a few weeks to 'cleanse' them. Finn is immediately sick. Carole comforts him while looking unsettled herself. Burt just sighs and asks him to at least tell Kurt they're alright.

Blaine assents.

The next morning, Kurt awakens to a mysterious phone call from a disguised voice. 'Your family is safe. They will be released after the cleansing. Do not look for them.' And then silence. Kurt starts at terror and winds up well past _fury_. He knows good and well what the 'cleansing' is and he refuses to let his family be victims of it.

He goes to the police station and demands answers, but they've got a hundred missing persons cases as it is, so Kurt starts going after the Equalists themselves. He asks enough of the wrong questions to the wrong people to get some bad attention, and Blaine learns that an Equalist hit squad has been sent to bring him in. Blaine only just manages to call and warn him before they strike.

Kurt is ambushed at his home. He tries to escape, but there are too many. He has no choice but to break his taboo and use his bending. He fights through them by shorting out their electrical weapons and escapes capture for the time being.

He holes up in his father's garage and tries to figure out who his mysterious caller is, almost immediately coming to the obvious conclusion.

The next time Blaine calls, Kurt says his name, and he immediately hangs up.

So now Blaine has to keep everyone safe. Kurt, the Hudmels, himself… it's a tall order. Finn in particular seems determined to foil him – he picks this moment to finally get good enough at metalbending to blow the door off his cell and make a break for it. He is beaten and zapped into a drooling mess and fastened to the wall with platinum chains. For a moment, Blaine is scared he may have permanent damage, but he recovers.

Kurt continues his search, and Blaine finds numerous ways to warn him of attacks. After enough close calls, Bryan Ryan suspects a mole. Plans are discussed in greater secrecy, and Blaine realizes he can't continue to play this game. He calls Kurt one last time and sets up a meeting.

Bryan Ryan overhears this, having bugged the phone lines. When he reveals to the others that Blaine is the mole, Mike is heartbroken. He insists that Blaine is a true believer, that he's just confused, being led astray by love. (Blaine didn't really tell him his boyfriend was a bender, but it wasn't hard to figure it out) Bryan Ryan decides to follow Blaine to this meeting and see where his loyalties lie.

And now we're back at the introduction. Forced to choose between loyalty and love, Blaine doesn't see it as a choice at all—the Changs and the Equalists picked up the pieces when his world was destroyed. Kurt showed him a wonderful new world, but then turned around and kicked him out of it. Blaine still loves him, but he can't turn his back on the Equalists. He tried to warn him. He tried to make him see. Kurt just wouldn't listen to him. It's not his fault.

That's what he tells himself.

They fight. It's fast and furious – Kurt is good, but he isn't used to fighting, and Blaine has no gadgets for him to short out. Blaine quickly gets the upper hand, until out of desperation, Kurt draws some electricity out of a shattered light fixture and Blaine completely freezes. Of course. Electricity. _Lightning_. Blaine is scared to death of lightning. He can't move. All Kurt has to do is let the power flow through him, and he could take Blaine out right now.

He _wants_ to. Blaine deserves it.

But he can't. His heart isn't in it.

He lets the electricity drop. Blaine shakes it off and moves to take him down.

Mike beats him to it. He throws Kurt down and screams at him for using Blaine's phobia against, for abusing his trauma for personal gain. Blaine watches in horror as Mike slams Kurt's head into the ground and knocks him out. He stands there, numb, as Mike runs over and hugs him, tells him it's okay, he's safe, they're not going to hurt him anymore. Mike comforts him. Mike thinks he's afraid.

He is. But not of _Kurt_.

Back at prison, Kurt's head looks bad. Blaine begs for them to let a waterbender heal him. He's worried about a concussion. The others ask why. Blaine says they're not here to maim or kill benders, just to bring them down a peg. They let Carole heal Kurt, saving him from brain damage. Burt quietly weeps and rocks his unconscious son as Carole strokes his back. Finn calls Blaine the lowest piece of dirt he's ever seen.

Blaine does not argue with him.

Mike does. He says they abused Blaine, took him in and tried to corrupt him, turn him against his own family. Without even meaning to, he uses the same accusations as the Hudmels when they kicked Blaine out. It's a sobering moment.

Blaine is accepted back into the fold, though it feels hollow and hateful in his chest. The Hudmels will no longer speak to him. Kurt gives him nothing but frosty silence. He tries everything. Apologizing. Accusing. Lashing out. Begging and pleading. None of it works. They regard him only with sad disappointment.

Days before Amon's scheduled arrival, Bryan Ryan announces a change of plans. They intend to keep the prisoners after Amon cleanses them and use them as hostages to negotiate a prisoner exchange. Mike is overjoyed; they can finally get Tina and his family out of prison! Blaine is confused; what will they do with the prisoners if their demands are refused?

Bryan Ryan just smiles at him and tells him not to worry about it.

Blaine feels sick. He goes to the Hudmels and admits he is lost, he has always been lost. He doesn't know what to do or how to help them, he is truly sorry, he didn't have a choice—

And that's when Kurt speaks to him again, looking up and saying the same thing he said before: you have _always_ had a choice, and you _still_ have one. You just need to be brave enough to make it.

Blaine leaves their cell and wanders around the asylum in deep thought. He winds up in an observation room overlooking the cell block, and there he sees it; an emergency release switch. It was installed in case of fire, and allows for every cell in the block to be opened at once.

The circuit has been disconnected. It no longer works.

But Blaine knows who can fix that.

It takes him only moments to decide. He has to do this. Not for the Equalists. Not for the Hudmels. Not for Mike, or even Kurt.

For himself. For what is right.

He goes to Bryan Ryan and tells him that he wasn't betraying the Equalists - he was trying to save Kurt from his bending. He tells Kurt's story, explaining why Kurt could not strike him with the electricity. Bryan Ryan is thrilled – he sees Kurt as a kindred spirit, and immediately seeks to evangelize to him the wonders of Amon. On a silent cue from Blaine, Kurt pretends to be enraptured and seriously interested in giving up his bending by choice. His family is horrified, and will not stop yelling at him. Eventually, Bryan Ryan tires of them and orders Kurt to be taken out of the cell so they can talk privately.

Once he is out of the cell, Blaine walks beside him as they follow Bryan Ryan. He explains his plan. Kurt is shocked. Will it really work? Blaine doesn't know, but it's worth a try. Kurt wonders why the sudden change of heart. Blaine says his heart never changed, it just woke up. Kurt reminded him of who he truly is, and he can't do this anymore. He should never have joined; he only did it because he was so angry at the world, and he thought Kurt hated him. Kurt is stunned. He doesn't hate Blaine. He never did, even when they were fighting. Blaine apologizes. Kurt apologizes. They were both fools.

At the right moment, Blaine and Kurt make a break for the observation room. Kurt dashes in and completes the circuit with his bending.

Mike runs into the room just in time to see Blaine flip the switch and release every bender in the prison at once. All hell breaks loose. Mike immediately goes for Kurt, but Blaine intercepts him and tells Kurt to go find his family. Kurt doesn't want to leave Blaine. Blaine reminds Kurt about his father's heart condition, and off he goes.

Mike stares at him with tears in his eyes. _Why?_ I trusted you. I defended you. I loved you like a brother, we all did!

Blaine shakes his head. This is wrong, and Mike should know that.

No, the benders are wrong, the way they treat us, that's wrong!

Maybe, but two wrongs don't make a right. The Equalists aren't helping.

You're delusional. He's bending your thoughts!

No, the Equalists are. They're poisoning our souls! Look at yourself, look at how you've changed!

You're the only one who's changed. You'd betray me, mom, dad, everyone who loved and supported you, all for a _bender_?

No, Mike. _For me_.

Blaine begs Mike to see reason. He knows Mike isn't like this.

Mike shakes his head. Blaine doesn't know him at all. And apparently, he doesn't know Blaine, either. They're no better than strangers to each other now. 'Blaine' is just another name on his list.

Blaine asks, What list?

Mike breaks a loose piece of pipe off the wall. _The list of people benders took away from me_.

And then he attacks.

**FINAL CHAPTER –** _The Death of an Equalist_

The scene is chaotic; a prison riot of Equalists vs. Benders below, a battle between former best friends and brothers above.

Kurt and the Hudmels lead the charge of the benders. They are strong, but the Equalists have numbers and technology on their side. Carole breaks the pipes to spray the Equalists and freeze them. Finn folds metal doors onto his fists and starts smacking people around. Kurt shorts out anything electrical, though he can't just short out the mechatanks; they're too well insulated.

Burt finds a piece of railing and holds it threateningly.

Meanwhile, Mike pretty much beats the crap out of Blaine. His betrayal has pushed him over the edge in a big way, and Mike is holding nothing back. He screams at Blaine. _We gave you everything. Mom and dad gave you everything, and you threw them away!_ Blaine can't match Mike for raw speed and power, but he is crafty, and he knows Mike's weak point. He ends up the same place he did in Chapter 3 – clinging onto Mike's back, just out of his reach. He hopes this will end the fight, but he underestimates how unstable Mike is right now.

Mike regards Blaine as the only good thing he has left, the one thing he didn't fail to protect. His betrayal makes Mike an utter failure; without Blaine, he has no one at all.

So when Blaine climbs on his back, Mike responds by throwing himself off a railing and trying to kill them _both_.

Blaine just barely grabs the railing with one hand and Mike with the other as they dangle above the riot. Mike is slipping. Blaine begs for someone to catch him. Mike tells him to let go. Blaine refuses.

Kurt springs into action and orders several benders to form a human safety net. They do, and Blaine drops Mike into their waiting arms. At this point, Mike's mind is literally blown. He just tried to kill Blaine. Benders just saved his life. He is living in pineapple upside-down world.

He has to sit down for a moment.

The fighting between benders and Equalists picks up again, but something interrupts them.

Bryan Ryan announces over the PA system that he would rather die than fail Amon, so he's headed to the basement to detonate the gas tanks and kill them all because _fuck benders_. BryRy disappears behind a thick metal door, and the power goes out.

Oh, _shit_.

Everyone's priorities shift, big time. They band together to try to get through the door, but it's reinforced platinum. The Equalists retrofitted the basement to act as a bunker in case of a bender assault. The door is electric; without power, it won't open, and there's no other way in. Not even the earthbenders can get down there, and there is enough gas stored in the bunker to blow this entire place sky high.

They're all going to die.

Just when panic threatens to overtake them, Mike jumps up and takes command. He says that it'll probably take some time for BryRy to reach the gas tanks and set them off. They need to work together to escape. The crowd is incredulous. Equalists _and_ benders? Mike rolls his eyes. Yes, unless you all want to be equally _dead_!

It's hard to argue with that logic. The water and firebenders work together to cut a hole in the wall so they can head outside where there's more elements to work with. Everyone floods into the courtyard and starts trying to force open the giant platinum gate.

Everyone except Kurt and Blaine, that is. Blaine grabs Kurt and pulls him aside. Kurt has crazy electrical skills; Blaine thinks he can open the door so he can stop Bryan Ryan directly. Kurt is shocked. You'd rather go down into the basement with the crazy man than help escape? Blaine is adamant. If I stop him from detonating the gas tanks, we don't have to worry about escaping. Kurt agrees, and insists on coming with him. Blaine tries to argue, but Kurt reminds him that only he can open the door, and they don't have time to fight.

Blaine grabs an Equalist battery and Kurt siphons its energy into the door. They manage to push it open and head down to the basement together

Outside, the EqualBender alliance tries to open the gate, but it's slow-going. Mike realizes that even if they do open it and get away, an explosion this high on the mountain could trigger an avalanche. Hundreds of people could be in danger. They need to be warned.

So Mike heads to the communications tower to make a phone call to the RCPD. Other Equalists stop him. What is he doing? Doesn't he know he's about to blow their cover? Mike doesn't care. Blaine was right—this has gone too far, and Mike is as responsible as anyone. Those people down there are more important than our secrecy. _We're not in this to kill people_.

The others realize he is right, and allow him to try to make the call. He can't. The phone is dead. When BryRy took out the power, he took out the phone as well. Mike curses, but another Equalist realizes the phone line is not beyond repair. With the help of the Hudmels and a few other benders, they are able to reconnect the phones and send out a warning. Police airships rise up from the city and start heading towards them as evacuation messages are broadcast over the radio to all in the path of a potential avalanche.

Down in the pitch-black basement bunker, Bryan Ryan curses himself for forgetting to bring a flashlight. This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision. He fumbles around in the dark until he finds the generator they keep down there for emergencies and activates it, turning on the basement lights. He is headed for the gas tanks when Kurt and Blaine arrive to stop him.

A fight ensues. Bryan Ryan has skills and weapons aplenty. His chi-blocking could disable Kurt's bending, and his various electrical gadgets could take down Blaine with ease. Fortunately, the dynamic duo's weaknesses are each other's strengths. Blaine is a skilled enough chi-blocker to intercept most of his strikes, and Kurt can fry any electrical device he tries to use. By switching places and remaining flexible, they manage to keep BryRy on the ropes. Eventually, he gets frustrated and ends the fight by throwing down a flashbang and running off. The blinding light and noise only stuns them for a moment, but that moment is all that BryRy needs to climb in and crank up his mechatank (because of course they have one of those down there).

Now it's Kurt and Blaine vs. BryRy's mechatank. Neither of them can penetrate the tank's armor and harm it directly. Blaine thinks he might be able to take out the engine, but he needs to get close, and he can't do that if the mechatank can see him. Kurt turns his firebending to its brightest setting and uses it to blind and confuse BryRy, while Blaine dashes in, climbs up, and drops smoke bombs down the mechatank's smoke stacks.

The bombs fill the cabin with smoke and cause the engine to burst into flames, but it's not enough to stop the tank. BryRy, blinded and coughing, immediately goes crazy and starts blindly ramming everything in the basement, hoping to hit the gas tanks and set them off.

Blaine realizes they've just made him more dangerous than ever. They have to stop him! Can Kurt drain the battery? Kurt says no. The circuits are insulated, and even if they weren't, draining it would take too long. It would be faster to overload it, but he needs a power source. Blaine points him to the generator. Kurt says it might not work if he can't hit the circuits directly. Blaine says he knows how to expose them. He runs for the robot and Kurt runs for the generator.

Blaine jumps onto the back of the flaming mecha and climbs up to pull at the plate protecting the circuits. Try as he might, he can't pull it off.

Kurt is at the generator and ready for action. He's just waiting for Blaine to open the circuits and get clear.

BryRy hits a wall and cracks the cockpit window, allowing the smoke to start escaping the cabin.

Blaine keeps pulling at the circuit protector, but he can't pull it off. He can, however, hold it open…

Kurt yells at him to hurry.

The smoke in the cabin clears. Now able to see the gas tanks, Bryan Ryan begins lining up for his final charge, clearly in the ninth circle of crazy.

Blaine realizes they are out of time. He tells Kurt to shoot them now.

Kurt is horrified. He'll hit Blaine. He has to get off.

Blaine shakes his head. He can't. He has to hold the plate open. There's no other way.

Kurt can't.

BryRy charges his flaming mecha towards the gas tanks, screaming the glory of Amon.

Blaine says he loves Kurt. He never stopped. They have to do this **now**.

Kurt knows. He never stopped either. He puts his hand on the generator, just like he did the battery all those years ago. The energy climbs up his arm.

Blaine closes his eyes, remembering the buzz of electricity and Sebastian's words, _you brought this on yourself_. He smiles, knowing that this time, he's right.

Kurt unleashes the energy and Blaine screams as he is electrocuted. The mechatank's circuits explode, and it lurches violently off course, crashing face-down a few yards shy of the gas tanks. Blaine is thrown from the wreck and lands in a heap a few feet away.

The generator burns out, and the basement goes dark.

Kurt stumbles through the blackness to the flaming wreck of the mechatank, the only light left. He sees Blaine, silent and horribly still, barely within reach of the firelight. There is steam coming off his body.

Kurt goes to him. Calls his name. Shakes him over and over. Blaine, please. Blaine, wake up. Blaine, I'm so sorry…

No answer.

The sprinklers activate. Bryan Ryan lies still in the flaming wreckage, unconscious or dead, Kurt doesn't care. He pulls Blaine's limp body close to him, shielding him from the water as the fire dies and the lights go down.

Back out on the surface, they finally manage to pry the gate open, only to have the entire complex suddenly stormed by metalbending cops. The scene descends into chaos, with cops going after Equalists, benders defending them, cops confusedly arresting benders, and a great deal of general yelling and running.

In the insanity, Burt realizes he doesn't know where Kurt is. He hasn't seen him since the break-out. He stumbles around calling his name, but there is so much sound and confusion that he can't be heard over the din. He grabs an officer. Where is my son? I need to find my son.

Please, sir, calm down.

No, you don't understand, MY SON! Where is—

And suddenly, the sky is split by lightning, the air rippling with thunder. A single bolt strikes – not from the sky, but from a boy. Every voice is silenced. Every eye turns to the source of the storm. Kurt's fingers are still outstretched as he shouts for help. Pleads for it. Please, someone help him, he needs help, he needs medical attention, you have to…

Burt doesn't know who he's talking about until he sees the body at his son's feet, and his heart breaks.

Mike is led away in handcuffs, perfectly cooperative until he sees him. Then, he is like a man possessed, running and struggling and trying to reach him, screaming nonsense. _No, not him, anyone but him, this isn't fair, he was the good one, he doesn't deserve this,_ _ **not him**_ _…_

The officers are forced to subdue him.

The Hudmels gather around Kurt in a protective huddle, watching helplessly as Blaine is placed on a stretcher and carried away.

**EPILOGUE:**

It is weeks later. The Hudmels sit in a hospital room. The figure on the bed is almost unrecognizable as Blaine.

They take turns talking to him.

Finn says he's sorry he called Blaine dirt, and even sorrier he treated him like it. He didn't deserve that. No one does, especially not someone as brave as Blaine. Blaine is probably the bravest dude he's ever met. He wishes Blaine would wake up so he can tell him that.

Burt tells him that the whole Equalist thing is over. The Avatar kicked Amon's ass and exposed him as a fraud. It's downright cruel that after everything Blaine went through, Amon was just another lying bender using him for his own ends. Makes Burt's blood boil.

Carole tells him that people are finally being released from prison. All the innocent people held as Equalists will be out soon, including the Changs. Not Mike, though. Mike was a for-real Equalist. He's being held for trial and will be expected to answer for the crimes he committed, like all the others. Like Blaine unfortunately will be, if he ever wakes up...

Kurt throws his magazine against the wall. It's not fair. Nothing has changed. Not a damn thing is different now – the system that chewed up and spat out Blaine and everyone like him is still in place, more smug and self-assured than ever thanks to the illegitimacy of Amon.

Burt tries to calm him down, but Kurt won't have it.

It's stupid. They were just standing up for themselves. Amon didn't bloodbend them all into submission – he seized on a sentiment that had been building since Republic City's founding. And now, thanks to him, that sentiment will be shoved back underground and forgotten about until it explodes again. Nothing changed. They all believed in Amon, and in the end, he just made all of their lives worse.

Blaine's nurse comes in from where she was listening by the door. She says that's the risk you take sometimes. Anytime you stand up for someone, people are going to tell you to sit down. It's hard to know when you should ignore them and when you should listen.

Kurt just sighs. It isn't fair.

The nurse smiles at him as she changes Blaine's IV bags. Life never is.

Burt asks her if there's been any change in his prognosis. There hasn't. The doctors still don't know when, or even if, he will wake up. But she thinks they shouldn't be so down on everything. Things might not be as bad as you think.

Kurt says he doesn't see how. She just tells him to trust her and gives him a wink.

As she leaves, Kurt gets the strangest feeling he's seen her before. Is this the same hospital Blaine was in before? He swears that nurse was in some of Blaine's pictures, but she's gone before he can ask her.

The sun is setting when the Hudmels leave, miserable and forlorn, but with every intention of coming back next week. They figure they owe the poor, screwed-up kid that much, at least. He might have put them in that prison, but he turned around and gave everything he had to get them out, so it's hard to hold it against him. He was a good kid, in the end. They were right about him the first time.

On the way home, they have to stop for gas. Kurt mans the pump while the others head inside for snacks. It isn't until they are gone that he recognizes the man pumping gas across from him. _Mr. Chang?_

Mr. Chang looks up in shock. He seems to remember Kurt from the bookstore. He asks how Kurt is doing, but Kurt just turns the question around on him. He didn't know they were already free from prison. Have they visited Blaine?

Mr. Chang looks uneasy. They have. It was… difficult

Kurt asks him if he and his wife are okay, if they got their bookstore back.

Mr. Chang says they are fine, and that the bookstore was returned to them, though he wound up selling it anyway.

Kurt asks why.

Mr. Chang says he feels Republic City is not the best environment for his family at the moment.

Kurt wonders who he is talking about. His wife is the only one he has left. His son is in prison and Blaine is…

And then he looks over to the car and sees them in the backseat.

He nearly drops the gas pump.

Blaine is asleep, Mike holding him in a protective one-armed hug, his own eyes on his mother in the store.

Mr. Chang realizes his slip of the tongue has pretty much blown his cover. He begs Kurt not to tell anyone.

Kurt is incredulous. They just visited Blaine in the hospital, he's in a coma, how could they just steal him like that, don't they know how dangerous that is?

Mr. Chang shushes him and admits that Blaine is not in a coma. The boy they visited in the hospital is another coma patient who has been there a long time. They put him in place of Blaine so they could escape with him.

Kurt gapes. So they just spent two hours in the hospital saying nice things to a complete stranger?

Mr. Chang winces. Unfortunately, yes. He is sorry for the deception.

Kurt just sighs and looks at Blaine. He asks if he is okay.

Mr. Chang says he is. He is very tired and very weak, but they believe he will make a full recovery, given time. He is a strong boy.

Kurt smiles. Yes, he is.

Mr. Chang looks conflicted for a moment, before asking Kurt if he would like to speak to Blaine.

Kurt's eyes widen. Now?

Mr. Chang nods. Yes, now.

Kurt looks towards the gas station. His family seems to be embroiled in a deeply philosophical argument over what brand of pork rinds to get. Mrs. Chang waits behind them in line, thoroughly unamused.

Kurt then looks back at Blaine, gives a wan smile and shakes his head. Let him sleep.

Mr. Chang looks at him sadly. Are you sure? This… may be your last chance to speak for a while.

Kurt is about to ask him what he means when it hits him. Both of the boys in the backseat are criminals in the eyes of Republic City. If they stay here, they are likely to be tried and imprisoned purely to satisfy public outcry against the Equalists. They could go to jail for years. The only hope they have for any kind of normal, happy life is to leave this place and never look back.

Mr. Chang is asking him to say goodbye.

Kurt shakes his head and says he hates goodbyes. It would only make it harder for both of them. Let him rest. He deserves it.

Mr. Chang gives him a sad smile. He wishes more benders – no, more _people_ were like Kurt. The world would be a better place for all of them.

Kurt smiles. He could say the same about Blaine.

They finish refueling at around the same time. As he puts up the pump, Mike spots him from the back seat. He looks shocked. Kurt gives him a smile. Mike gives him a questioning look and points to Blaine. Kurt purses his lips and shakes his head. After a moment, Mike gets it, giving him a solemn nod and rubbing Blaine's shoulder.

The Hudmels return with three different brands of pork rinds. Mrs. Chang is right behind them. Kurt gives her a friendly wave. She, too, looks shocked, but not unhappy to see him.

Both families pack into their cars. Kurt finds himself in the back passenger side seat, staring at the slumbering Blaine through the window. As Mr. Chang cranks his car, Blaine is stirred by the vibrations. He blinks like a newborn opening his eyes for the first time, and Kurt nearly chokes on his own heart when he turns his bleary eyes right towards him.

Blaine opens his mouth to speak, but Kurt holds a finger to his lips to shush him. Blaine gives him a confused, miserable look. Heaven help him, he can barely hold his head up, but he wants to talk to Kurt so badly.

Kurt gives him a wobbly smile.

Blaine mouths _I love you_.

Kurt answers by lighting a small flame on two fingers and holding it up for Blaine to see.

Blaine tearfully returns his smile.

Their families drive off, and the boys go their separate ways.

As the Hudmels head home, Burt asks if Kurt knew the people at the gas station.

Kurt says yes. They're good people.

He knows he'll tell them the truth soon; no reason for them to continue to visit a stranger who can't actually hear them, after all. But for now, he will keep his thoughts to himself.

He wonders what it would've been like, him and Blaine. Maybe in a different world, they could've been together. Maybe in a different time, they will. But for now… it simply wouldn't have worked between them.

Love only works between equals, and in Republic City, that's exactly what they are not.

As they pass Yue Bay, Kurt looks out at Air Temple Island and prays for perhaps the first time in his life. _Avatar Korra, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, please understand that the city is still broken. Defeating Amon didn't change that. There is something toxic here that desperately needs to be addressed, but I believe you can do it. You can show us how to use our powers responsibly. You can show us how to live in harmony. You can bring balance to this city, I know you can. If my family can be fixed, then this city can be fixed. I believe in you, Avatar Korra._

_Please don't let me down._

The Hudmels drive home, and the sun sets on Republic City.

**THE END**

Jesus H.R. Puffnstuf, even my summaries are obscenely long. @_@ Well, there you have it. That's everything I had planned for this story. Sorry I couldn't finish it for you. :-/

Here's hoping the next 3 Books of Korra explore this issue in more detail, or at least acknowledge it. I suppose I'll be watching either way. :P


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